President Abdul Hamid’s eldest son Rejwan Ahmed Toufiq is set to receive the ruling Awami League’s nomination for Kishoreganj-4 by-polls, party sources said.
A meeting of the ruling party’s parliamentary board will take the decision to select Rejwan as the successor of Abdul Hamid today.
AL president Sheikh Hasina will preside over the meeting to be held at the prime minister’s official residence Ganabhaban at 7pm today.
Party sources said the party forum would take the decision as per the AL president’s desire.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, AL advisory council member Amir Hossain Amu, also member of the party’s parliamentary board, said today’s meeting of the parliamentary board would take decision in this regard.
Kishoreganj-4 constituency, which includes Itna, Mithamain and Astagram Upazilas fell vacant as the lawmaker from the constituency, Speaker Abdul Hamid, was elected President of the country on April 22.
The Election Commission on May 22 declared the election schedule for the by-election. As per the EC schedule, the by-poll would be held on July 3.
The last date for submitting nomination papers for Kishoreganj-4 by-polls is June 6, while that for withdrawal of candidature is June 17. The nomination papers will be scrutinised on June 9.
Sources said besides Abdul Hamid’s son, the aspiring candidates are the President’s elder brother and Mithamain thana AL president principal Abdul Haque Nuru; Kishoreganj district administrator, Zillur Rahman; Mithamain upazila parishad chairman and district AL vice-president Kamrul Ahsan Shajahan; district bar general secretary Shahidul Alam and publicity secretary of Astagram Upazila AL Syed Ashim.
Sources said the grass-root level leaders of party’s Kishoreganj district chapter, at a meeting on May 25, requested AL chief Sheikh Hasina to provide nomination for Rejwan Ahmed Toufiq. But Sheikh Hasina did not give the green signal to the party men from Kishoreganj district.
Sources said the main opposition BNP would boycott the by-poll as per the party’s earlier decision. National and local level leaders of AL observed that due to BNP’s boycott, the election would not be a national issue.
Earlier in the last national poll in 2008, district BNP president Fazlur Rahman contested the poll and was defeated by Abdul Hamid.
