Md. Aminul Islam Raju, Sherpur District Correspondent

A special debate dialogue titled “People’s Parliament” was held in Sherpur, bringing together parliamentary (MP) candidates from the district’s three constituencies to discuss their development visions. The event took place on Saturday evening at a community center in the Khormampur area of the town, organized by the Multi-Party Advocacy Forum (MAF) and the National Debate Federation (NDF), Sherpur.

Participating in the dialogue were BNP-nominated candidates Md. Mahmudul Haque Rubel from Sherpur-3 (Sreebardi–Jhenaigati) and Engineer Fahim Chowdhury from Sherpur-2 (Nakla–Nalitabari). Also present were Jamaat-e-Islami-nominated candidates Hafez Rashedul Islam from Sherpur-1 (Sadar), Md. Golam Kibria (VP) from Sherpur-2, and Md. Nuruzzaman Badal from Sherpur-3, along with Engineer Md. Likhan Mia, an NCP-nominated candidate from Sherpur-1.

The program was presided over by Abu Raihan Rupon, General Secretary of MAF Sherpur. Masud Hasan Badal, Moderator of NDF Sherpur, served as the speaker, while the dialogue was conducted by Emdadul Haque Ripon, Advisor of NDF Sherpur.

During the nearly two-hour-long session, the MP candidates presented their respective development plans for Sherpur and responded to various questions from NDF members present at the event. In a unified tone, the candidates criticized the previous authoritarian government, alleging that Sherpur saw little to no development due to the incompetence and lack of commitment of former representatives.

They pledged that if elected in the upcoming parliamentary elections, they would work to establish a medical college, university, and railway connectivity in Sherpur, develop attractive tourism destinations, resolve the ongoing human–elephant conflict, transform the Nakugaon land port into a fully functional trade hub, and set up industries to create employment opportunities for unemployed youth.

Members of MAF and NDF, political figures, and journalists working in the district were also present at the dialogue.