Four brothers from the same influential family are to contest the upcoming 11th national election in three seats in Tangail.
Three of the Siddique siblings will go head-to-head for rival parties in Tangail 4, with former minister Abdul Latif Siddique running as an independent candidate against Krishak Sramik Janata League President Abdul Kader Siddique and Azad Siddique of the Jatiya Oikya Front.
The fourth brother, Murad Sidduque, will contest Tangail 5, while Abdul Kader Siddique has also put his name forward for Tangail 8 constituency.
Abdul Latif Siddique
The former minister informed reporters of his decision to run as an independent candidate from Tangail 4 in a press conference at his Kalihati residence on Sunday.
He previously won the seat as the Awami League candidate in the 1970 provincial election and at the national polls held in 1973, 1996, 2008 and 2014.
Latif became a minister after the 2008 general election but was forced to resign from his post and parliament in October 2014 after making objectionable comments about Hajj, Prophet Mohammad (SM), and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy at a program in New York.
“I accepted that I made mistake and for which my leader (Sheikh Hasina) removed me from the party, as it could have had negative impact on the party and on the people of the country,” he said.
“I am not contesting against Awami League, rather against Jatiya Oikya Front and BNP.
Abdul Kader Siddique
Kader is one of the main alliance members of Jatiya Oikya Front.
In the 1996 election, Kader won as the Awami League candidate from Tangail 8. In 1999, he left Awami League and formed his own party and later lost in the by-election to Awami League candidate, the late Shawakat Momen Shahjahan.
In the 2001 election, he won from the same seat as his party’s candidate.
Krishak Sramik Janata League Tangail District President Adv Rafiqul Islam said Kader Siddique has collected nomination forms from two constituencies as the Oikya Front candidate has not been decided yet.
“Our leader is supposed to contest from multiple seats,” he said. “Right now, legal complications are being sorted out so that Kader can contest the polls.”
Murad Siddique
Murad contested Tangail 5 constituency in the 2001 election as the Krishak Sramik Janata League candidate but stood as an independent in 2008 and in 2014, losing all three times. He tried several times to join the Awami League but failed. There are also rumours that he might get the nomination from Oikya Front.
Azad Siddique
Azad bought a nomination form from Tangail 4 constituency to be the candidate of the Oikya Front. He was involved with Chhatra League a long time ago but has not been active in politics recently.
