Hero Alom Demands MP Post After Ishraque Declared Mayor

Staff Correspondent

Following a court ruling declaring BNP leader Ishraque Hossain as the mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), popular YouTuber and former MP candidate Hero Alom, also known as Ashraful Alom, has demanded to be reinstated as a Member of Parliament.

In a verified Facebook post on March 27, Hero Alom stated, “Since Ishraque has been declared the mayor of Dhaka South, I demand my rightful return to the MP posts for Dhaka-17, Bogura-4, and 6. I have endured enough injustice.”

On Thursday, a court verdict annulled the government’s gazette notification appointing Awami League’s Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh as DSCC mayor and declared Ishraque as the rightful winner of the 2020 election. Shortly after the decision, Hero Alom made his public demand.

Ishraque had filed a lawsuit on March 3, 2020, challenging the DSCC election and results on grounds of irregularities and corruption. The election, held on February 1, 2020, had seen Awami League candidates Atiqul Islam and Fazle Noor Taposh declared winners in Dhaka North and South, respectively.

The Election Commission published the gazette on February 2, and the elected mayors served in their roles until being removed on August 5 last year following a political shift. However, their dismissal reportedly bypassed constitutional procedures.

Ishraque, son of former Dhaka mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka and a member of BNP’s international affairs committee, had contested under the BNP’s “sheaf of paddy” symbol. Hero Alom, who also ran for the Dhaka-19 seat against Mohammad Ali Arafat, had been defeated in the polls.