Barrister Farzana Sharmin Putul. Photo: BSS

By Md Aynal Haque

RAJSHAHI, Feb 14, 2026 (BSS)- Barrister Farzana Sharmin Putul has been 
elected as the only female Member of Parliament (MP) from the 72 
parliamentary constituencies across 16 districts in the northern divisions of 
Rajshahi and Rangpur. 

In the recently concluded 13th National Parliamentary Election, she won from 
the Natore-1 (Lalpur-Bagatipara) constituency as a candidate of the 
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
 
At 41 years of age, this lawyer is also the youngest female MP in the 
country. Barrister Putul is the daughter of late BNP leader and former State 
Minister for Youth and Sports Fazlur Rahman Patal.
 
After 18 years, she regained her father's former constituency by securing 
party nomination and winning the election.
 
Fazlur Rahman Patal had served as an adviser to BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda 
Zia and was elected MP from this constituency four consecutive times in 1991, 
1996, and 2001.
 
He served as State Minister for Youth and Sports from 2001 to 2006. In the 
2008 election, the seat slipped from BNP's control after Patal was defeated 
by Jatiya Party candidate MA Talha.
 
Later, in 2014, Awami League candidate Abul Kalam Azad was elected unopposed 
from the seat. 

Fazlur Rahman Patal passed away in 2015. 

In the 2018 election, his wife received the party nomination but lost to 
Awami League candidate Shahidul Islam Bakul. 

As BNP did not participate in the 2024 election, no member of the Patal 
family contested that year. After a long 18 years, his daughter Barrister 
Putul has now reclaimed the seat.
 
By profession, Barrister Farzana Sharmin Putul is a Supreme Court lawyer. She 
currently serves as Special Assistant to the BNP Chairperson's Foreign 
Affairs Advisory Committee, a member of the Human Rights Committee, and a 
member of the party's Media Cell.
 
According to the election results, she secured 102,726 votes to win. Her 
nearest rival, Jamaat-nominated candidate Abul Kalam Azad, received 90,568 
votes while Independent candidate Taiful Islam Tipu came third with 73,173 
votes, contesting under the "Pitcher" symbol.
 
However, Putul's victory was not easy. She faced various challenges in 
participating in the election.

There was even family rivalry over party nomination, as her elder brother, 
Dr. Yasir Arshad Rajan, was also vocal in seeking the nomination.
 
Additionally, she faced strong competition from independent candidate Taiful 
Islam Tipu, who had served as BNP's central co-office secretary. 
For contesting against the party's "Sheaf of Paddy" symbol in defiance of 
party directives, he was expelled from all party posts, including his primary 
membership.
 
During the election campaign, Barrister Putul was reportedly subjected to 
cyberbullying. It was also alleged that some leaders within the party worked 
in favor of the rebel candidate. Among them were former Bagatipara Upazila 
Chairman Jahangir Hossain, municipal mayor Shariful Islam Lelin, former 
Gopalpur Municipality Mayor of Lalpur and former BNP leader Munjurul Islam 
Bimal along with several others.
 
Overcoming these adversities, she ultimately succeeded in crossing the 
electoral hurdle.
 
After her victory, Barrister Farzana Sharmin Putul said, "BNP honored the 
people of this constituency by nominating me and, the people of this 
constituency, in return, have honored the party to elect me as the MP. I will 
not judge anyone based on who voted or who did not vote for me. I want to 
work with everyone."
 
She further added, "Not only for this constituency or Natore district, but if 
given the opportunity, I'm ready to work for the country."