Madaripur, Dec 07 (V7N) – Angry grassroots leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have been protesting the party’s nomination for the Madaripur-2 constituency since Thursday. On Saturday afternoon, they took to the streets with protest marches from multiple locations, blocking the Dhaka-Barishal highway at Tekergat Port and Rajair bus stand, halting all traffic for over two and a half hours.

The demonstrators held protest rallies along the highway, setting fire to tires at 10 to 12 locations and lying down on the road to express their grievances. They claim that the party ignored local opinion in awarding the nomination to Jahandar Ali Jahan, whom they accuse of extorting money and rehabilitating pro-Awami League elements.

Activists demanded that the nomination be given instead to Helen Jerin Khan, former Member of Parliament and BNP’s central co-education secretary, who has endured 17 years of attacks, lawsuits, and harassment while protecting the party and its activists. Supporters of Babu Milton Baidya, a former student league leader who also faced repeated political attacks and imprisonment, staged similar protests at the Rajair bus stand, blocking the road and burning tires.

The protestors repeatedly chanted slogans rejecting the nomination of those they consider collaborators and warned that unless the party quickly changes its decision to nominate either Helen Jerin Khan or Babu Milton Baidya, the agitation would continue.

Local authorities monitored the situation but did not intervene, and the demonstrators dispersed peacefully after completing their rallies.

END/SMR/SMA/