Sadiq Kayem received Jamaat’s ‘green signal’ for Dhaka-8 constituency last week

Special Correspondent

Jamaat-e-Islami has considered the party’s candidate for Dhaka-8 (Motijheel, Shahbagh, Ramna, Paltan and Shahjahanpur) constituency. The name of Jamaat-backed DUCSU VP and Central Student Union leader Sadiq Qayem has emerged in discussions within the party. Jamaat’s Assistant Secretary General and Head of Publicity and Media Department Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair confirmed the matter on December 6.

Party sources said Sadiq Qayem has been placed at the top of the candidate list due to his political acceptability, long-standing activism in the academic arena, and experience in running organizations at the local level. However, Jamaat has not yet officially announced his nomination.

Earlier, the party’s central working committee member and Dhaka Metropolitan South Naib-e-Ameer Advocate Dr. Helal Uddin was initially nominated for this seat. After receiving the nomination, he also started active campaigning in the field.

However, changes were made in the selection of candidates as Sadiq Kayem, who won the VP post with a huge majority from the Chhatra Shibir-supported panel in the recent DUCSU elections, came into the spotlight again.

In the DUCSU VP election, Sadiq Kayem received the highest number of 14,042 votes, while his closest rival, Abidul Islam Khan, supported by Chhatra Dal, received 5,708 votes.

Meanwhile, Inqilab Manch spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi, who is contesting from Dhaka-8 as an independent candidate, reacted on Facebook and said that the election would be more ‘interesting’ if Sadiq Qayem participated.

He wrote, “Sadiq Qayem is my brother. If he contests from Dhaka-8 constituency, then my election journey will be even better, InshaAllah. I will contest from the same constituency in July.”

On the other hand, BNP has already announced its name as the candidate for the same seat – former minister and central leader Mirza Abbas.

Amidst such political heat, a new incident has spread tension in the area. On Friday, potential independent candidate Inquilab Mancha spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi was shot in the Bijoynagar area of ​​Paltan in the capital. Dhaka Medical College Hospital police outpost in-charge Md. Farooq confirmed that Hadi has been admitted to the ICU and is undergoing treatment.

In a post on his verified Facebook page at 11:52 am, a few hours before he was shot, he wrote, “Since I don’t have any posters or festoons in Dhaka-8, I don’t even have the pressure to tear them down now. Happy Jumma Mubarak to the ACC.”

Amidst various political equations and speculations about candidacy in Dhaka-8 constituency, Jamaat’s ‘green signal’ to Sadiq Kayem has made the constituency even more hotly debated in the upcoming elections.