A clash broke out on Sunday afternoon inside the Election Commission headquarters in Dhaka during hearings on objections and demands over the redrawing of parliamentary boundaries for Brahmanbaria-2 and Brahmanbaria-3 constituencies.
The hearing began at 12:00pm at the EC Secretariat auditorium in the presence of Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin, four election commissioners, and the EC secretary. Journalists, however, were not allowed inside.
Following publication of the draft for Brahmanbaria-2 and 3, applications were filed both in support of and against the changes. Tensions rose during arguments, and at one stage, two groups became agitated and engaged in a scuffle. EC officials quickly intervened and brought the situation under control. The secretary then ended the hearing on the two constituencies and asked participants to leave.
During the proceedings, BNP leader Barrister Rumeen Farhana spoke in support of the EC's draft, while several others opposed it. Those against argued that three unions from Bijoynagar upazila -- Budhanti, Chandura, and Harashpur -- had been wrongly placed under Brahmanbaria-2. "We want our upazila to remain intact," they said.
Following the clash, Rumeen voiced her anger. "What has not happened in the past 15 years has happened on Sunday. For 15 years I have fought for the leaders and activists of the BNP. And today, they [some BNP men] pushed me. If such a situation arises within the party over constituency boundaries before the election, what will happen during the polls is predictable," she told journalists around 2:00pm.
She added, "I thought I would present my own case as a lawyer. But the candidate from Brahmanbaria-3 came with 20–25 of his men, and they behaved like thugs. Their conduct was shameful and unworthy of the dignity and gravity of the Election Commission premises. Today, they almost pushed me to the ground. If I am pushed, a push in return is inevitable."
By 2:45pm, a group of National Citizen Party activists gathered outside gate number two of the EC building, accusing the BNP of hooliganism inside. Security personnel stopped them from entering.
Joint Chief Organiser of the NCP, Md Ataullah, alleged that he and his party leaders and activists were attacked. The attack, he claimed, was carried out by former BNP MP Rumeen Farhana and her party activists.
Rumeen, however, said Ataullah was an unfamiliar face. "I don't know whether he is from NCP or from Jamaat. At first, he pushed me. Then, of course, my people would not just sit idle. My people also responded," she said.
In a video shown by Ataullah, Rumeen was seen standing in front of the podium, while Ataullah was on the ground behind her. Several people appeared to be kicking and punching him.
Sunday’s hearings covered constituencies in Brahmanbaria (2, 3, 5), Cumilla (1, 2, 6, 9, 10, 11), Noakhali (1, 2, 4, 5), Chandpur (2, 3), Feni-3, and Lakshmipur (2, 3). The hearings will continue until Wednesday.
On July 30, the EC published a draft redrawing the boundaries of all 300 constituencies, adding one in Gazipur (raising its total to six) and reducing Bagerhat's constituencies from four to three to ensure voter balance. By August 10, the commission had received 1,760 objections and claims across 83 constituencies. Hearings on these applications began on Sunday and will conclude on August 27, after which the EC will publish the final constituency map.
