Sarjis Alam, chief organiser of the northern region for the National Citizen Party (NCP), has said that if anyone offers cash in exchange for votes ahead of the election—be it Tk500 or Tk1,000—citizens should throw the money back in their face. He made the call at a street rally in Ghoraghat upazila of Dinajpur on Tuesday afternoon.Sarjis said: “Remember one thing, the person who tries to buy your vote with Tk500 or Tk1,000 is the people’s greatest enemy. They want to silence you for five years. They want to take away your most fundamental civic right—the right to vote. Throw that money back in their face. If you do not, they will end up looting thousands from you over the next five years for all sorts of services. You will not even have the right to speak up. In this new Bangladesh, we want to see real change.”

The rally in Ghoraghat was part of a broader NCP campaign featuring rallies and leaflet distribution across six upazilas of Dinajpur. The event was chaired by Abdul Mannan Sarkar, organiser of the NCP’s Ghoraghat upazila chapter.

Sarjis also said that the dream of building a new Bangladesh must not go in vain. “Over 1,000 people laid down their lives to realise this dream. Three-year-old children, six-year-old Jabir—they gave their lives. More than half of those who died were under the age of 18.”

Addressing locals, Sarjis added: “If you cannot summon the courage to call out what is wrong, wrongdoers will grow stronger. And we have seen where that leads. We cannot let anyone else follow that path. That is our humble plea to you.”