Dhaka, Jan. 27 -- In Dhaka-14, the word that refuses to leave the air is "Goom" -- disappearance. Under the fallen Awami League government, one candidate was abducted and vanished; another lost his brother the same way, his whereabouts still unknown.

In this election, memory itself has become a political force.

The constituency -- six wards of Dhaka North City Corporation and two unions of Savar Upazila -- is one of the most emotionally charged battlegrounds.

The BNP candidate is Sanjida Islam Tuli, the sister of the disappeared BNP leader Sajedul Islam Sumon. Searching for her brother, she built "Mayer Dak," an organisation of families of the disappeared.

Her main rival is Barrister Mir Ahmad bin Quasem, better known as Arman, himsel...