Ex-BNP leader Shahjahan Omar emerges victorious with 'boat'
Shahjahan Omar, who joined the Awami League upon release from jail, has won the Jhalkathi-1 (Rajapur-Kathalia) seat.
He received 95,478 votes on the boat symbol, while his closest rival, Abu Bakar Siddique of Zaker Party, secured 1,624 votes.
The Assistant Returning Officer and District Election Officer A Saleq announced the result on Sunday night.
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Among the other candidates, independent candidate Abul Kashem Fakhrul Islam received 370 votes on the 'truck' symbol, M Moniruzzaman, who withdrew from the candidature, garnered 625 votes on the 'eagle' symbol, Bangladesh Congress Party's Mojibur Rahman received 142 votes on the 'green coconut' symbol, Trinamool BNP nominee Jasim Uddin Talukder got 282 votes on the 'golden fiber' symbol, Jatiya Party nominee Ejazul Haque received 1,272 votes on the plough symbol, and Sanskritic Muktijot candidate Mamun Sikder secured 97 votes on the stick symbol.
Shahjahan Omar, the former vice chairman of BNP, was expelled from the party after joining the ruling party. Initially, the Awami League announced the name of the current Member of Parliament Bajlul Haque Haroon as the nominated candidate with the boat symbol for the Jhalakathi-1 seat. Later, Shahjahan Omar was nominated as the party's candidate for that seat.
