Awami League’s former state minister for information Prof Abu Sayeed has joined the Kamal Hossain-led Gono Forum ahead of the 11th parliamentary election.
Prof Abu Sayeed collected the nomination papers from Gono Forum’s Arambagh office on Monday afternoon, said Gono Forum Training Secretary Rafiqul Islam.
He added that the former Awami League leader joined the party and the opposition Jatiya Oikya Front alliance after meeting with Gono Forum General Secretary Mostafa Mohsin Montu.
Abu Sayeed was the Awami League’s state minister for information for five years starting in 1996. After 1/11, he came to be known as a reformist in the party and was eventually removed from the party leadership.
He contested in the 10th general election as an independent candidate from the Pabna 1 constituency in 2014 after failing to receive the Awami League’s nomination. He lost out to Awami League candidate Shamsul Haque Tuku.
Sayeed was a member of the then Pakistan National Assembly in 1970 and was part of the committee that drafted Bangladesh’s constitution.
Reza Kibria, son of former Awami League Finance Minister Shah AMS Kibria, former Ekushey Television owner Abdus Salam, and 10 retired army and air force officials joined Kamal Hossain’s Gono Forum before Sayeed.
The 11th parliamentary election will be held across Bangladesh on December 30.