Pro-Awami League Blue Panel sweeps Dhaka University teachers' election

The Awami League-backed Blue Panel continues its domination of the election to the Dhaka University Teachers’ Association by winning 14 of 15 posts up for grabs, including those of president and general secretary.

Dhaka University Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 11 Dec 2017, 01:23 PM
Updated : 11 Dec 2017, 08:01 PM

Professor ASM Maksud Kamal of the Department of Disaster Science and Management has been re-elected president of the association in the polls held on Monday.

Prof Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam of the Department of Banking and Insurance has been elected general secretary. He was a vice-president in the previous committee.

The White Panel teachers backed by the BNP and its ally Jamaat-e-Islami won only one member’s post in the executive committee. 

The members of the association cast their ballots from 10am to 2pm at the Dhaka University Club.

Election Commissioner Prof Tofail Ahmed Chowdhury announced the results later in the afternoon.

According to him, 1,502 or around 74 percent of 2,010 members of the association cast their votes.

Like before, the DUTA polls were mainly fought between the pro-Awami League teachers and their rivals backed by the BNP and Jamaat.

Leftist teachers’ Pink Panel contested in the election last year, but did not throw any candidate this year.

Re-elected President Maksud pulled 949 votes while his rival White Panel’s Prof ABM Obaidul Islam of physics department got 477 votes.

General Secretary Shibli bagged 725 votes while White Panel’s candidate Prof Lutfur Rahman of statistics department drew 679.

The only winner from the White Panel is computer science and engineering department Prof Md Hasanuzzaman.

Prof Maksud is the provost of Surja Sen Hall and dean of the Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences.

He was elected president of the teachers’ association last year after working as the general secretary for three consecutive terms.

New General Secretary Shibli is the dean of the Faculty of Business Studies and a member of the university senate.

Speaking to bdnews24.com after the election, Maksud expressed gratitude to those who voted for him.

He called the victory a result of ‘overall development’ of the university.

Meanwhile, Obaidul conceded the defeat and welcomed the new committee. “We will be by their side in developing the university,” he said.

The Awami League-inclined panel is dominating the elections for several years. They won all the 15 posts last year.

This year, biological sciences faculty Dean Prof Md Imdadul Hoque has been elected vice-president from the Blue Panel, English Department’s Prof Tazin Aziz Chaudhury joint secretary and Prof Mamtaz Uddin Ahmed of the accounting and information systems department treasurer.

The others who won from the panel are Prof Md Aftab Ali Shaikh of the Institute of Leather Engineering and Technology, criminology department Chairman Prof Ziaur Rahman, microbiology department’s Prof Sabita Rezwana Rahman, Prof Nizamul Hoque Buiyan of the Institute of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences Dean Prof Sadeka Halim, sociology department Prof Zeenat Huda, mathematics department Prof Chandra Nath Podder, Prof Muhammad Samad of the Institute of Social Welfare and Research and Bangla Department Prof Soumitra Sekhar Dey.