Pabna, Nov 28 (V7N) – Senior BNP leaders in Chatmohar have issued strong warnings and reiterated their demand for replacing the party’s nominated candidate for the Pabna-3 constituency, calling for a local nominee instead of what they described as an “outsider imposed from above.”

The warning came during a torch procession and brief rally held on Thursday night, organized to press for changes in the party’s nomination for the upcoming national election.

Addressing the gathering, former Chatmohar Upazila BNP convener and former Upazila Chairman Hasadul Islam Hira accused the supporters of the nominated candidate of creating obstructions for local leaders.

He warned that if these activities continued, the response would be forceful: “You must behave respectfully if you want respect. Otherwise, the people of Chatmohar will give a fitting answer. If we want, we can expel you from Chatmohar within one hour. Do not force us.”

Earlier, a large torch procession started from the Chatmohar bus stand and marched through the main roads of the municipality before concluding at the Baluchar playground, where senior leaders delivered speeches.

Former MP and former Upazila BNP President K.M. Anowarul Islam, former Upazila Chairman Hasadul Islam Hira, and Chatmohar Municipality BNP General Secretary Touhidul Islam Taizul spoke at the rally.

Hira heavily criticized the BNP-nominated candidate, saying he lacked popularity and acceptance among local voters. He claimed that even with activists brought from across the country, the candidate could not gather more than a few thousand supporters at a previous event.

“In contrast, today’s torch procession had more people than your entire rally,” he said. “The people of Pabna-3 have rejected you. Do not boast, because you are not from here.”

Hira urged BNP’s central leadership to reassess field surveys and grass-roots sentiment. He warned that if the nomination was not withdrawn, the local BNP leaders would intensify protests. He added that the nominated candidate might lose to Jamaat-e-Islami if allowed to contest, and the responsibility for such a defeat would fall on the central leadership.

“We do not want to block rail lines or highways and cause public suffering,” he said. “But if we choose to, we can bring 20,000 to 50,000 people and shut down the railway within hours. Do not force us into such measures.”

Former MP K.M. Anowarul Islam also criticized the choice of nominee, stating that BNP leaders had been assured that the candidate would be a well-accepted local figure with strong public connection.

“But the nominee selected for Pabna-3 is neither popular nor engaged with the people,” he said. “Chatmohar, Vangura, and Faridpur have many qualified and dedicated local leaders. Everyone wants a local candidate.”

He appealed directly to BNP’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman to reconsider the nomination and ensure a candidate from the constituency’s own “soil and people.”

Local BNP leaders reaffirmed that the agitation would continue until the central leadership took their demands into account.

END/MSR/SMA/