Chittagong: Hours after the voting began, BNP has boycotted the polls to the newly-formed Karnaphuli Upazila Parishad on Sunday on allegations of wide rigging and forcing out of their polling agents from 26 centres.

The party announced the boycott decision at a media conference around 10:30 am.

Earlier, immediately after voting began, Hazi Mohammad Osman, the pro-BNP candidate for the post of vice chairman, has alleged that his rival supporters ousted his polling agents from the centres.

When visited, reporters witnessed poor turnout of voters in some polling centres.

An executive magistrate has remained deployed for two polling centres in the upazila while seven police personnel, 13 Ansar members would be deployed at 42 polling centres each, he said.

Besides, five platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and five teams of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) have been deployed as striking force, said Returning Officer Munir Hossain Khan, also district election officer.

Faruk Chowdhury, the AL-backed candidate, M Forkan, the pro-BNP candidate, Jahangir Kabir Rizvi, a pro-Islamic Front aspirant, are vying for the post of chairman.

A total of 107,799 voters are expected to cast their vote to elect a chairman, a vice chairman and a female vice chairman for the upazila parishad.

‘Voting is underway since morning in peaceful manner. Voter turnout will hopefully increase later in the day,’ said Munir Hossain Khan, adding that, ‘No allegation of irregularities we receive yet.’

The balloting in the first ever election at the upazila that began at 8:00 am will continue till 4:00 pm without any break.