Rumeen Farhana wins Brahmanbaria-2 as an independentCEFR A2
10 Mar 2026
Adapted from Abhimanyu Bandyopadhyay, Global Voices • CC BY 3.0
Photo by Bornil Amin, Unsplash
Rumeen Farhana is a Bangladeshi barrister and politician. She was long with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and worked under Khaleda Zia. She served as BNP co-international affairs secretary and often criticised the Awami League in Parliament.
After the BNP did not give her a nomination in the 2026 election, she ran as an independent in Brahmanbaria-2. Her election symbol was a duck. On February 13 she held a press meeting with a live duck and social media called her the "Mother of Ducks". She won the seat by 38,000 votes.
She says she worked in the area since 2017 and was asked to step aside in 2018 with a promise for 2024. She says the party later reversed the nomination, backed an allied candidate and expelled her. She reports sustained harassment during the campaign.
Difficult words
- barrister — a lawyer who speaks in higher courts
- nomination — official choice of a person for election
- independent — not part of any political party
- expel — officially force someone to leave a groupexpelled
- harassment — repeated behaviour that upsets someone
- criticise — say that someone or something is wrongcriticised
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Why do you think people called her the "Mother of Ducks"?
- How would you feel if your party did not give you a nomination?
- Do you think election symbols can help voters? Why or why not?
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