Jatiya Party has expelled its defeated mayoral candidate for Khulna City Corporation, SM Mushfiqur Rahman, for losing deposit money in the local body polls due to poor performance. 

The JP nominated mayoral candidate bagged only 1,072 votes in the May 15 KCC polls.

Of the four other candidates -- mayor-elect Talukder Abdul Khaleque of Awami League got 174,851 votes; BNP's Nozrul Islam Monju bagged 109,251; Islami Andolon Bangladesh's (IAB) Md Mozemmal got 14,363, and CPB's Mizanur Rahman Babu got 534 votes.

Returning Officer Md Yunus Ali said the EC confiscated the deposit money of two other mayoral candidates -- CPB's Babu and IAB's Mozemmal -- as they failed to get one-eighth of the total vote.

According to the Election Commission, a candidate is not refunded the deposit money, which is

Tk 50,000, if he fails to bag at least one-eighth of the total votes cast.

JP sources said in the 2013 mayoral election in KCC, JP-backed candidate got around 2,800 votes. This time, the JP nominated candidate bagged less than half of that number.

JP insiders said the party at first did not want to participate in the mayoral race due to its poor organisational capability in Khulna city.

“Jatiya Party earned respect after winning mayoral post in the Rangpur City Corporation election, defeating the Awami League and BNP candidates. But defeat in the KCC polls with cancellation of JP candidate's deposit money tainted the party's image badly,” commented a JP presidium member.

Wishing anonymity, the JP central leader said the JP Chairman HM Ershad did not want to field anyone from JP in the KCC mayoral polls, but Mushfiqur  assured him that he will definitely get at least 30,000 votes.

“Sir became angry at Mushfiqur as he showed very poor performance,” another JP leader said.

A day after the election, Ershad scrapped the party's convening committee in Khulna. On the following day, he relieved Mushfiqur from his post.

Mushfiqur said the party should form an investigation committee to find out why it performed poorly at the KCC polls.

“His decision was nothing but autocratic. I was not given any chance to defend myself,” added Mushfiqur.