Sworn in as chairman in morning, removed in afternoon

Mokarram Hossain Sujan, who won the upazila parishad polls 3 months ago, was sworn in as the chairman of Gangachara upazila in Rangpur in the morning only to be removed from his position just hours later.
Sujan, who had been prevented from assuming office in the past three months due to a court injunction, finally took his oath today after a High Court directive ruled in his favour.
However, his tenure was cut short by a government order that removed all 493 upazila chairmen across the country on the same day.
Sujan, a former BNP leader, defeated the ruling Awami League’s candidate, Ruhul Amin, by 833 votes in the Gangachara upazila election held on May 29.
The election results were published on June 4, and Sujan was scheduled to be sworn in on July 3.
However, a legal challenge from the defeated candidate led to a temporary injunction on his swearing-in, which was only lifted by the High Court on August 14.
Sujan, a former Joint Secretary of Rangpur District BNP and a member of Gangachara upazila BNP, was expelled from the party for defying the party’s decision and participating in the upazila parishad election.
Despite his victory, his time in office was short-lived, as the Local Government Division, in a sweeping move, removed all upazila chairmen from their posts on the same day he was sworn in.
Asked how he felt after his chairmanship was cancelled, Sujon said, “Since the government has decided on all Upazilas, I have no reaction.”