Khondokar Baten

Victory eludes Awami League (AL) for long in Tangail-6 (Nagarpur-Delduar) constituency, once its stronghold, due to intra-party feud.
Awami League could not bag the seat since after 1973 election though it has good organisational strength. The issue is being discussed in party rank and file but front ranking district leaders are unmoved, insiders said.
AL's prospect in Tangail-6 has brightened following the delimitation as Delduar has been separated from Tnagail-5 and added to Tangail-6. AL's prospective candidate freedom fighter Khondokar Abdul Baten has a large number of followers and supporters in Delduar, local political circles said.
The party is divided into many factions over candidature for the coming election also, they said. AL candidates were defeated by BNP in last two elections because of intra-party feud.
Failing to narrow down rivalry between party leaders, AL Presidium member and veteran leader Abdul Mannan contested from the constituency in 1991 election but he lost to BNP's Khondokar Abu Taher with a margin of 14,909 votes.
After the 1991 election, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) leader Freedom Fighter Khondokar Abdul Baten joined AL along with his followers in 1992. Some local (Nagarpur) AL leaders and activists were disappointed over his joining and started opposing Baten. Baten ran in 1996 election as an AL candidate but was defeated by BNP's Gautam Chakroborty. The vote difference was however narrowed down to 1,950.
Baten got the party ticket again in 2001, but was defeated by 4-party alliance candidate Gautam Chakroborty with a margin of 1,878 votes.
Many AL party leaders blamed the then Nagarpur upazila party president Golam Mohammad Khan Tareque for the defeat. Denied of party ticket, he contested the election as an independent candidate and got only 16,462 votes.
Several AL leaders declared their candidature from the constituency in the planned election of January 22, 2007 which was postponed.
Party sources said Khondokar Baten is known as an honest politician to the party men as well as people. Now that Delduar upazila has been added to Tangail-6, his prospects have become brighter, they said. AL lost in 1996 and 2001 elections due to inter-party feud.
When contacted, Khondokar Baten said he was defeated by BNP candidate in last two elections with little margins due to hostility by some party men.