Bangla PM Hasina registers landslide win in general elections; opposition rejects 'farcical' polls
Dhaka, Dec 31: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's alliance has won the parliamentary vote with a thumping majority, officials said Monday, even as the main opposition rejected the "farcical" elections which claimed 18 lives and left over 200 injured, making it one of the deadliest polls in the country.
The ruling Awami League-led coalition has won over 267 seats in the 300-member House, according to the Election Commission (EC).
The opposition National Unity Front (UNF) led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) - which has been out of power for 12 years and had boycotted the 10th general elections in 2014 - managed to secure only eight seats, media reports said.
The opposition Oikya Front demanded that the EC immediately scrap the "farcical election" and hold a fresh one under a non-partisan interim government.
Front chief and veteran lawyer Kamal Hossain called the polls a "farce", citing widespread polling frauds, bdnews24.com reported.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, who steered the party in the absence of imprisoned former prime minister Khaleda Zia, described the polls as a "cruel farce".
He said the elections proved that free and fair polls were not possible under a partisan government.
The EC confirmed the complete result of the constituency in southwestern Gopalganj from where Hasina won, bagging 2,29,539 votes, while her BNP opponent got only 123 votes.
The National Unity Front (NUF) is a coalition of parties, including BNP, Gono Forum, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-JSD, Nagorik Oikya Front and Krishak Sramik Janata League.
Rejecting the polls, Hossain said "we have reports that fraudulence took place in almost all centres".
While Hasina was seeking re-election for the fourth term as the prime minister, her chief rival Zia, who is reportedly partially paralysed, faces an uncertain future in a Dhaka jail.
The EC said they have received over a hundred complaints from candidates throughout the country amid reports of violence.
At least 18 people, including a member of a security agency, have been killed and more than 200 others injured in poll-related violence, making it one of the deadliest polls in the country, the Daily Star reported.
Reports said most of the dead were ruling party activists, while others were workers of the BNP or its allies.
Over 600,000 security personnel including several thousand soldiers and paramilitary border guards were deployed across the nation for the election in which 10.41 crore people were eligible to vote.
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'The Ba**ds of Bollywood’ mirrors my life, damages my reputation: Sameer Wankhede tells Delhi HC
New Delhi: IRS officer Sameer Wankhede has submitted his reply to the Delhi High Court in the defamation case he filed against Red Chillies Entertainment, the production company owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan. The case pertains to the recently released series The Ba**ds of Bollywood*, which Wankhede claims has defamed him.
In his statement to the court, Wankhede asserted that the show’s portrayal of a police officer is clearly based on him and has caused serious harm to his public image. He cited four key reasons supporting his claim.
First, he said the character in question bears physical similarities to him, including facial and body features. Second, he noted that the character’s working style and mannerisms closely resemble his own.
Third, Wankhede highlighted that the officer in the show is depicted making a high-profile arrest involving a major film personality, which he said directly mirrors his own involvement in the Aryan Khan drug case.
Fourth, he pointed out that the character frequently uses the phrase “Satyameva Jayate,” a motto he himself had used during media interactions in the course of that investigation. He argued that using the national motto in such a context cannot be dismissed as creative expression or humour.
Wankhede also referred to an interview in which Aryan Khan allegedly admitted that the show was “inspired by some real events.” This, he said, contradicts Red Chillies Entertainment’s claim that The Ba**ds of Bollywood* is purely fictional.
He further alleged that the tone and intent of the series indicate personal and institutional vendetta, aimed at discrediting and defaming him rather than engaging in artistic storytelling.
Wankhede informed the court that the fallout from the show has affected his family, with his wife and sister receiving abusive and vulgar messages online.
Rejecting Red Chillies’ argument that he is a “thin-skinned” officer, Wankhede said that a public servant cannot be expected to tolerate false and damaging portrayals simply because of his position. He emphasized that his legal action seeks to protect the constitutional rights and dignity of both himself and his family.
