Bangladesh is going to polls on Dec 30, 2018 to elect the members of parliament.
Syed Ashraf, brother Shafayat collect AL nomination forms for same constituency
Syed Ashraful Islam and his younger brother Syed Shafayatul Islam have collected the Awami League’s nomination forms for the same Kishoreganj-1 constituency.
Published : 9 Nov 2018, 09:01 PM
Updated : 9 Nov 2018, 09:01 PM
The ruling party started selling nomination forms for the Dec 23 election on Friday. Party chief Sheikh Hasina’s forms were collected first at its Dhanmondi office.
Syed Ashraf’s aide Tofazzal Hossain bought the nomination form for him in the morning, said Shamsul Kabir Rahat, a former Bangladesh Chhatra League leader who was among those tasked with distributing the forms.
Later, Syed Ashraf’s younger brother retired army officer Syed Shafayat collected the nomination form for the same constituency, former BCL president Saifur Rahman Sohag said.
Another senior Awami League leader, Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, also collected nomination form, Sohag told bdnews24.com.
Syed Ashraf, son of Syed Nazrul Islam, one of the four national leaders killed in the jail in 1975, left for the United Kingdom after the assassination. He returned in 1996 and became a member of parliament on the AL ticket from Kishoreganj-1. He was re-elected in 2001, 2008 and 2014.
Ashraf was entrusted with the duties of Awami League general secretary when central leaders including Hasina were put behind bars during the 2007-8 emergency rule. He proved his mettle when the military-controlled government sought to punish politicians and banish the two top politicians - Hasina and Khaleda Zia.
Hasina, however, removed him as the local government minister in 2015. He also lost the party’s number two post, general secretary, in its last council. He is a member of the Awami League’s presidium now.
The 68-year old politician is suffering from lung cancer and receiving treatment in Bumrungrad Hospital in Thailand. He took leave from parliament on Sept 18 due to his sickness.
Ashraf was not keeping well and there is a slim chance of him getting back to politics, said Shafayat in an event in Kishoreganj on Nov 4.
They are focusing on his treatment now, he had added.
Shafayat had himself contested in parliamentary elections from the Kishoreganj seat with the Awami League’s ticket.
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