Actress Mahiya Mahi's candidacy for Rajshahi-1 scrapped

Election officials have rejected the candidacy of Dhallywood actress Sharmin Akter Nipa, popularly known as Mahiya Mahi, for the Rajshahi-1 (Godagari-Tanore) constituency in the upcoming 12th parliamentary elections.

Mahi, intending to run as an independent candidate, needed to submit a list of signatures from one per cent of the constituency's voter base to qualify, as per election regulations.

However, her nomination was invalidated due to the presence of 'fake voter signatures' in her submitted documents, according to Deputy Commissioner Shamim Ahmed, who serves as the returning officer in Rajshahi.

The scrutiny revealed that details of three signatories on Mahi's list could not be found, according to bdnews24.com. Additionally, one signatory was not a registered voter, while the list also included the signature of a voter from Chapainawabganj.

Actress Mahi grabbed headlines when she purchased a nomination form from the Awami League to run from Chapainawabganj-2. However, she was not selected by the ruling party, prompting her to shift her focus to the Rajshahi-1 seat.

Expressing her intention to challenge the returning officer's decision, Mahi insisted that all the signatures were of authentic voters.

"My nomination was cancelled over alleged fake signatures. But I have proof that [they are genuine] as everyone signed the document in person. There is video evidence of it. I will present the evidence in my appeal."