Nasir Uddin Patwary eyes Dhaka seat in upcoming election

Nasir Uddin Patwary has been a key figure in the background of the July Uprising, which gained national attention. 

In 2020, he became prominent by leading protests demanding an end to border killings, taking a position at Rajshahi, and speaking out on the issue. 

He is currently serving as the Chief Coordinator of the National Citizens‍‍` Party. 

However, Patwary now plans to contest the upcoming parliamentary election from a seat in Dhaka, although he has not yet decided which constituency to run in. 

He is considering either Dhaka-17 or Dhaka-15, with Dhaka-15 seeming like the more probable choice. 

Dhaka-15 consists primarily of the wards from Kafrul and Mirpur.

Dhaka-15 Seat Overview

The Dhaka-15 constituency has long been under the dominance of Awami League‍‍`s Kamal Ahmed Mojumder. 

After boundary changes in 2008, Kamal has been the representative, having been elected in every subsequent election. 

Prior to that, Dhaka-15 was part of the Dhaka-10 and Dhaka-14 constituencies. 

Dhaka-15 is made up of Ward 04, 13, 14, and 16 from the Dhaka North City Corporation. Since the BNP does not have a strong contender in this constituency, it has remained largely uncontested.

Currently, Ahsanullah Chowdhury Hasan, the councillor from Ward 14 of Dhaka North, is the BNP‍‍`s candidate for Dhaka-15. 

In 2018, Dr. Shafiqul Rahman contested the seat for the BNP-led alliance, but now he serves as the Amir of Jamaat-e-Islami. 

Although Jamaat had announced candidates for 300 seats, Dr. Shafiqul Rahman will not contest from Dhaka-15. 

The BNP, or its alliance, has yet to finalize their candidate for the seat, as there is no heavyweight candidate available. 

The previous candidate, Hamidullah Khan, passed away in 2011. 

Other potential candidates from BNP include Mamun Hasan, the former Senior Joint Secretary of the central Youth League, and Ahsanullah Chowdhury Hasan, a former member of Dhaka North BNP and a councillor, both of whom face growing allegations of extortion.

Electoral Landscape

In the 2024 general election, Dhaka-15 had a total of 344,507 voters. Since BNP boycotted the election, Awami League‍‍`s Kamal Ahmed Mojumder won by a landslide. 

However, voter turnout in this constituency was the lowest in Dhaka, with only 13.04% casting their votes. 

Kamal Ahmed Mojumder received 39,632 votes, while his nearest rival, Mohammad Samsul Haque from the Jatiya Party, received just 2,044 votes.

In the 2018 general elections, Kamal Ahmed Mojumder also emerged victorious, securing 175,167 votes. 

His closest opponent, Dr. Shafiqul Rahman from Jamaat-e-Islami, received 39,071 votes.

In the 2014 general election, when BNP boycotted, Kamal Ahmed Mojumder secured a decisive win with 30,095 votes, while the nearest independent candidate, Ikhlas Uddin Mollah, received 3,309 votes.

In the 2008 general election, Kamal Ahmed Mojumder won with 120,780 votes, defeating BNP‍‍`s Hamidullah Khan, who secured 77,781 votes.

Creation of Dhaka-15 Constituency

The Dhaka-15 constituency was created in 2008 when the Bangladesh Election Commission redrew electoral boundaries to reflect population changes following the 2001 population census. 

Since then, Awami League‍‍`s Kamal Ahmed Mojumder has had strong control over the seat. 

Despite allegations of extortion and land-grabbing against him, no alternative clean-image candidate has emerged, leaving the constituency largely uncontested.

Nasir Uddin Patwary‍‍`s Background

Nasir Uddin Patwary hails from Faridganj in Chandpur. He was a student of the Marketing Department at Dhaka University, class of 2013-14. 

He became known for his involvement in anti-discrimination student movements and as a coordinator for the Liaison Committee of the movement. 

In 2020, he gained national attention when he led protests demanding an end to border killings. 

He has also been an outspoken figure on various issues concerning Dhaka University. 

After the July Uprising, he has held significant positions, including Chairperson of the Citizen’s Committee and currently, Chief Coordinator of the National Citizens‍‍` Party.

The Mirpur area, a key part of the July Uprising, played an important role in the movement, with people from various professions actively engaging in protests and resistance. 

As a result, candidates are keen to capitalize on the momentum of the uprising in this area, and Nasir Uddin Patwary seems to be leading the charge. 

Meanwhile, other potential candidates like Mamun Hasan from the central Youth League and Ahsanullah Chowdhury Hasan from BNP are facing growing allegations of extortion, which may impact their nominations.