Bagerhat, Sept 6 (V7N) – Political leaders in Bagerhat have announced a weeklong strike and blockade program to protest against the Election Commission’s decision to cut one of the district’s four parliamentary constituencies and redraw the boundaries of the remaining seats.

The decision was made at a meeting of the All-Party Struggle Committee on Saturday morning at the Dhansiri Hotel auditorium near Dashani Mor in Bagerhat Sadar. Leaders from across the political spectrum demanded the retention of all four constituencies, declaring that residents of Bagerhat would not accept the constituency cut.

Engineer A.T.M. Akram Hossain Talim, convener of the committee, and member Monirul Islam Khan said that the Election Commission had taken away one seat from Bagerhat and added a new one in Gazipur, despite earlier objections from local residents when the draft plan was published. “We will not accept this decision under any circumstances. To reclaim our constituency, we have announced tough protest programs,” they said.

The weeklong program includes protest rallies and leaflet distribution across all upazilas on Sunday, followed by a dawn-to-dusk strike and blockade throughout the district on Monday. Demonstrations will be held in every upazila on Tuesday, while on Wednesday and Thursday, a district-wide dawn-to-dusk general strike and blockade will be enforced. The leaders also warned that fresh programs would be announced afterward if their demands were not met.

The Election Commission recently gazetted a decision to reduce Bagerhat’s constituencies from four to three while increasing the number in Gazipur. Though the commission revised its earlier draft following objections, it retained the decision to cut one constituency, which sparked widespread anger among Bagerhat residents and prompted the current protest campaign.

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