BNP claims victory in Bangladesh's election, set to return to power after 20 years
Dhaka (PTI): Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Friday claimed victory in the crucial general elections, marred by sporadic incidents of violence, to elect a new government to replace the interim administration, which took charge after the fall of the Awami League regime in August 2024.
"The Bangladesh Nationalist Party-BNP is set to form the government after victory in the majority of seats," BNP's media cell posted on x.
The Election Commission (EC) is yet to make a formal announcement.
According to multiple media reports, EC is expected to declare BNP the winner in the general elections with tallies in predawn hours on Friday, suggesting it got majority seats in parliament.
Different media tallies suggested BNP received more than 151 seats in the 300-seat parliament on Thursday’s daylong voting, fair enough to form the next government, ending the 18-month rule of Muhammad Yunus-led interim government.
According to an EC spokesperson, the results in several seats are still being processed and are likely to be announced in a few hours.
The election is seen as a direct contest between the BNP and its former ally Jamaat-e-Islami, in the absence of ousted premier Sheikh Hasina's now debarred Awami League.
The voting for the 13th parliamentary elections was held along with a referendum on the implementation of a complex 84-point reform package, known as the July National Charter.
BNP was in power last time between 2001 and 2006 when Jamaat was its crucial partner, with two of its leaders serving as ministers.
Jamaat has raised allegations of "abnormal delays" and "result tampering," warning that it would launch a tough movement if the public mandate were "snatched away".
Speaking to reporters at the Election Commission building early morning, Jamaat’s assistant secretary general Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair alleged that returning officers were intentionally delaying results to favour a "particular party."
The BNP had earlier announced that if it wins the election, then its chairman and former premier Khaleda Zia's son, Tarique Rahman, would be the next prime minister of Bangladesh.
If the party wins, Rahman will be Bangladesh's first male prime minister in 35 years.
"We are confident of forming the government by winning more than two-thirds of seats," BNP's central election steering committee spokesman Mahdi Amin told a media briefing in the early hours of Friday.
Rahman, who returned to Bangladesh in December last year after over 17 years in self-exile, asked party leaders and activists to offer special prayers across the country after mid-day 'Juma' prayers instead of holding victory rallies.
The EC was yet to announce the voter turnout figure. It dismissed allegations of manipulation regarding voters' appearances in polling centres.
"There were debates over turnout percentages in past elections as well. Please don't question it now," Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasur Uddin told a reporter on Thursday evening.
He said variations were natural as results from several thousand polling centres arrived at different times.
EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed on Thursday said 47.91 per cent of voters had cast ballots by 2 pm on Thursday at 36,031 of the 42,651 polling centres.
More than 2,000 candidates, including a number of independents, were in the fray for 299 of the 300 parliamentary constituencies that went to the polls.
Polling for one seat was postponed due to the death of a candidate.
The Election Commission made elaborate security arrangements for the elections, deploying nearly 1 million security personnel -- the largest-ever in the country's electoral history.
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One dead in landslide, 235 rescued amid heavy snowfall in J-K’s Kishtwar
Jammu (PTI): One person was killed and another injured in a landslide near a hydro-power project, while over 230 people, including women and children, were evacuated after they were caught in heavy snowfall at the high-altitude Sinthan top in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, officials said on Monday.
In view of the inclement weather, the authorities have ordered the closure of all educational institutions outside the municipal limits in Kishtwar and adjoining Doda district for Monday as a precautionary measure, the officials said.
A landslide, triggered by rain, struck a hydro-power project site near Dangduru in Kishtwar district on the intervening night of Sunday-Monday, trapping two workers, the officials said.
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While one worker was later found dead, the other was rescued in an injured condition and shifted to a hospital, they said.
In another incident, the officials said, a joint rescue operation by the police, Army and the civil administration successfully evacuated 38 vehicles carrying 235 passengers to safety amid heavy snowfall at the Sinthan Top connecting Kishtwar in Jammu region with south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
“On March 15, information was received that 235 civilians were stranded at Sinthan top due to heavy snowfall and severe weather conditions. Troops of the White Knight Corps were immediately mobilised to launch a swift rescue operation despite the treacherous terrain and relentless snowfall.
“Braving extreme weather and snow-blocked roads, the rescue teams reached Sinthan top and provided the stranded civilians with hot meals, drinking water and shelter. Repair and recovery teams restored the mobility of the stranded vehicles, while passengers from the unrecoverable vehicles were safely evacuated.
“Medical teams rendered assistance and essential medicines to those in need,” the White Knight Corps said in a post on X.
“The mission witnessed seamless coordination between the Army, J-K Police and the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation, reaffirming the Army’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding lives in the harshest conditions,” the post added.
Kishtwar Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Sharma, along with SSP Naresh Singh and the commanding officer of the 11 Rashtriya Rifles, supervised the rescue operation, which continued for several hours, the officials said.
