The Dhaka-8 parliamentary constituency — covering Motijheel, Shahbag, Ramna, Paltan and Shahjahanpur — sits at the political heart of Bangladesh’s capital. At Mirza Abbas Women’s College in Shahjahanpur, the designated polling centre for BNP leader Mirza Abbas and his family became the focal point of intense attention on Thursday. A former mayor of Dhaka and minister in Khaleda Zia’s government, Abbas is the BNP candidate from Dhaka-8 this time. His challenger is Nasiruddin Patwari, a former anti-discrimination student movement leader now contesting as an NCP candidate aligned with the Jamaat-e-Islami alliance.
When Mirza Abbas went to vote on Thursday morning, NCP workers detained him, and journalists rushed to the scene upon receiving the news. However, by then so many people had arrived there in support of 'Abbas Bhai' that the blockaders were forced to retreat. Mirza Abbas calmly cast his vote and left in front of cameras from hundreds of domestic and foreign media outlets.
From the beginning, NCP candidate Nasiruddin Patwari, partner in the Jamaat-e-Islami alliance, had escalated tensions in the Dhaka-8 contest by attacking Mirza Abbas with indecent language. Abbas consistently avoided responding, saying, "What reply should I give to childish talk!"
Finally, at a press conference on Wednesday night, Mirza Abbas expressed concern that there would be attempts to make former student leader Patwari win through massive vote engineering (the term 'engineering' is commonly used in Bangladesh). Consequently, the Dhaka-8 constituency was under the watch of domestic and foreign journalists. However, apart from some morning arguments, nothing else happened, certainly due to strict measures by the army and security forces. Abbas had a smiling face at day's end. But when counting began after voting ended at 4:30 PM, worry lines appeared on Abbas saheb's forehead as Patwari was then moving ahead with small steps.
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From morning onwards, most of those seen in long queues of voters at booths across Dhaka-8 were young men and women. In fact, polling centres in Dhaka-6, Dhaka-9, Dhaka-10, Dhaka-12 and Dhaka-17 also saw notably young voters this time. They stood patiently in long lines. Among those spoken to, almost all said they had never felt enthusiastic about voting before. This time, they had to vote. Reminded of Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina's call for a vote boycott, Nusrat Tanvir's jaw tightened. She said, "The country's people sent her out of the country. What she said, who cares!"
While fixing his hair for a selfie in the voting line, Mahbub Suman said, "For serious reasons, voting is happening without the Awami League. They committed major crimes. Let the matter of their trial be settled, then let them come back and participate in elections. Until then, the country will run fine without them!"
In Shankharipara of the Dhaka-6 constituency, Hindu voters were seen standing in long lines to vote. Why did they come to the booths, ignoring Hasina's boycott call? A sindoor-wearing housewife said, "We have to survive with our families. They (Awami) can say many things from outside the country. Should we listen to all that?"
Ranjan Chowdhury, the Awami League councillor from this area, was in charge of voting in 2024. After the change of power, he is now arrested and behind bars.
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From Gulshan to Dhanmondi, Paltan to Mirpur-BNP workers with 'sheaf of paddy' badges on their chests were seen beside booths everywhere. From voter assistance centres, they were checking lists, finding names and writing them on slips. But polling agents were not visible in the same way. Jamaat's assistance centres were also seen in small numbers. Did Jamaat, which boasted of capturing all Dhaka seats, give up the fight? A local veteran journalist laughed at this. He said, "You'll see Jamaat after 6 PM, when counting progresses somewhat. The work BNP is doing now, they've already done it by reaching house to house."
Security forces' activity caught attention in this election. A total of 9 lakh security personnel were deployed across the country, combining the army, police, navy, air force, RAB, and BGB. Ansar (Home Guard) was also present. Separate booths for men and women were everywhere. Blue-jacketed assistants were there to help women. The infinite patience with which they answered all voters' questions was worth watching. Several police officers had special body cameras attached to their chests. So that the accused persons could be identified immediately if trouble arose. However, the voting phase in Dhaka concluded today without any major unrest overall.
At the Gulshan Model School booth in the morning, BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman and the interim government's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus voted with their wives within half an hour of each other. Black Cat Commando teams were positioned on the school roof with sniper rifles in sharp surveillance. Occasionally, they were flying a pair of drones. The enthusiasm surrounding Tarique Rahman was completely absent for the outgoing Chief Adviser. Yunus saheb's days have indeed 'come to an end'!
