He said, "The more news are run against me the more shall I be popular and the more lead I shall have over my opponents in the next elections."

"Of course, I will win in the next elections though journalists are writing in national dailies against me. Journalists also ran news against me before the last elections but I won that one," Shahidul said at a press conference in Hotel Sundarbans in the capital.

To a questioner, he however said he had asked the police to take measures to protect the journalists on May 29 but they failed to provide adequate security.

Claiming his men were not responsible for the attacks on journalists he said, "I had changed our local BNP's programme and requested the law enforcers to provide security to the journalists when I heard they would go to Kushtia on May 29."

At least 50 journalists were injured, including former president of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists' (BFUJ) and Editor of Bangladesh Observer Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, when BNP cadres swooped on a journalists' convention at the Kushtia Public library venue. The journalists were protesting against harassment of their four colleagues by Shahidul.

Shahidul said MS Khaleque, a local BNP leader of Kushtia belonging to his rival group, had a hand behind the attack on the journalists' rally.

Among others, Kushtia BNP General Secretary Syed Mehedi Ahmed Rumi, Shahidul Islam's Wife Begum Salina Sharif, local BNP Joint Secretary Khandaker Sajedur Rahman Bablu were present at the conference.

Meanwhile, three Kushtia based journalists alleged Shahidul and his accomplices became hostile towards them after they ran reports about their extortion, monopolising tender works contracts and occupying public and private property. They also alleged Shahidul issued death threats and filed several false cases against them.

Meanwhile, leaders of Sangbadik Sramik Karmochari Oikya Parishad threatened to go for tougher movements, including strike of newspapers, if their four-point demand was not met by June 14. Their four-point demand include exemplary punishment of Shahidul Islam and his goons.