United News of Bangladesh

The Appellate Division on Monday (December 29, 2025) ordered the immediate removal of Nagorik Oikya President Mahmudur Rahman Manna’s name from the list of loan defaulters, clearing the way for his participation in the upcoming national polls. A single member bench of Justice Md Rezaul Haque passed the order after hearing a petition submitted by Manna challenging a High Court (HC) order. The court also stayed the HC order for eight weeks. Following the order, Manna has now no barriers to contest the election from the Bogura-2 constituency. Read more: Arms smuggling attempts rise ahead of Bangladesh polls: Home Adviser Senior lawyers Ahsanul Karim, Syed Mamun Mahbub, Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua, and Mostafizur Rahman stood for Manna while senior lawyer Abdul Kaiyum represented Islami Bank during the hearing at the court. The appeal followed the HC’s rejection of Manna’s writ petition on Sunday seeking removal of his name from the loan defaulter list. Earlier, on Wednesday, an HC bench of Justice Md Bazlur Rahman and Justice Md. Mansur Alam dismissed the petition, barring him from taking part in the elections. Then, deputy attorney general Shafiqul Rahman said as the court had rejected Manna’s petition, thereby he was disqualified now. Later, Manna filed another petition with the Appellate Division on Sunday challenging the HC order. The legal controversy surfaces after a notice issued by Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited’s Bogura Bargola branch on December 10 regarding Afacu Cold Storage Limited, a company led by Manna. The notice demanded repayment of Tk 38.04 crore in defaulted loans, instructing full payment by December 18 and warning of legal action in case of non-payment. Awami League could return if PR system is used in polls: Manna The notice, signed by branch manager Touhid Reza, was sent to the company’s chairman Manna and Managing Director ABM Nazmul Kadir Shajahan Chowdhury. According to the documents, Manna owns 50 percent of the cold storage, while couple Shajahan Chowdhury and his wife Ismat Ara Laizu each hold 25 percent shares. Although the company was profitable, it failed to pay regular profits, charges and fines, resulting in the outstanding amount. The bank described the notice as a final warning to prompt repayment, according to the notice. The bank manager said Manna had made no effort to repay the loan despite the company’s profitability. As per the agreement, the payment obligations were not fulfilled, which prompted the notice.

The nomination paper of Gazipur City Corporation’s (GCC) former mayor Jahangir Alam was cancelled today in primary scrutinization, as he is a “loan defaulter”.  However, the nomination of his mother Zaida Khatun was declared valid at the same time. Faridul Islam, returning officer of the GCC election, announced the cancellation of nomination papers of three candidates, including Jahangir Alam, during scrutinizing. On the other hand, nomination papers of nine out of the 12 mayoral candidates, including Awami League-backed Advocate Azmat Ullah Khan, were declared valid. The former Gazipur mayor was the guarantor of an industrial organization. Jahangir was declared a loan defaulter along with the organization, the returning officer said. Though the former mayor and his counsel submitted documents demonstrating paying off the loan along with the nomination paper, the returning officer cancelled his nomination during the scrutinization. Read more: Gazipur polls: 12 mayoral candidates submit nomination papers Terming the role of election officers “biased”, Jahangir said he will move the court to get justice in this regard. On the other hand, the candidates whose nominations were declared valid termed the process “just and fair”. Among the mayoral candidates whose nominations were declared valid are Jatiya Party's MM Niaz Uddin; independent candidates Abdullah Al Mamun Mandal, Sarkar Shahnur Islam and Md. Harun-or-Rashid. The deadline for the submission of nomination papers was April 27, while the date for the scrutinization of nomination papers was today, and the last date for withdrawal of candidature has been set on May 8.   Information from the Office of Returning Officer shows 13 candidates withdrew their nomination papers. Meanwhile, 290 submitted nominations for the post of general councillors and 82 for the post of reserved women councillors. According to the district election office, the total number of registered voters in the 57-ward Gazipur City Corporation is 11,843,363. The voters will choose their next mayor through electronic voting machines (EVMs) on May 25.