Voting for the biennial election of Bangladesh Film Artistes’ Association has come to an end. The whole of BFDC was shrouded with an arrangement of tight security yesterday during the election. Police were present on the premises for the last few days but on election day they were joined by RAB personnel as well.
The voting started from 9 am and went on till 5 in the evening. The voting process was started off by the chief election commissioner Ilias Kanchan. There was an atmosphere of festivity but many celebrities complained of the inconveniences they faced due to tight security.
Even talented actor Sohel Rana had to face such hassles when he came to vote at 11am. He had difficulty entering the premises and the attending police officer asked for identification card. He had to wait 5 minutes even after he introduced himself as Sohel Rana.
He said, ‘This is the first time I’m witnessing such an election. It seems more like a police camp than an election venue. Why is there such tight security during an artiste election?’ After voting he said, ‘I believe those who will be elected will give strong leadership and won’t disappoint the artistes.’
Presidential candidate Moushumi said, ‘I really like the environment for voting this time. Everyone has come to vote on their own accord. It was hard work campaigning for such a long time, but today it feels like Eid day. I will be even more pleased if I am elected.’
Candidate Misha Saodagar said, ‘The one who scores a goal in this election will be the striker. I think no matter which candidate wins, the losing one might be upset for a day. But afterwards, they will be fine.’
Popy said before voting, ‘I have noticed that for a long time there was a lot of politics and corruption surrounding Bangladesh Film Artistes’ Association. This is a great disgrace for the artistes. We want an FDC that is free from brokers, politics and corruption.’
Out of 449 voters, 386 voters placed their votes during this election. This is the first time a woman is contesting for the post of president of Bangladesh Film Artistes’ Association. Moushumi is contesting as an independent candidate. Misha Saodagar is contesting for the post of president from the Misha-Zayed panel.
The candidates for vice-president are Monowar Hossain Dipjol, Rubel and Nana Shah. The candidates for the post of general secretary are general secretary of the current committee Zayed Khan and Ilias Kobra.
Subrata is the only candidate for administrative secretary. The candidates for international secretary are Nur Mohammad and actor Emon. The candidate for office and publicity secretary is Jacky Alamgir. Culture and sports secretary candidates are Jakir Hossain and Don. The only candidate for the post of treasurer is actor Farhad.
There are 11 posts for functional members of the association. There are 14 candidates for these posts including Rezina, Anjana, Aruna Biswas, Bapparaj, Aliraj, Afzal Sharif, Ranjita, Asif Iqbal, Alexander Bo, Joy Choudhury, Nasrin, Maruf Akib, Shamim Khan and Jasmine. The votes were being counted at the time of writing this report.
