Shohagh elected BCL president, Zakir general secy
Influences and a significant role of the syndicate of a former Bangladesh Chhatra League leader finally came out victorious defining what would be the new leadership of Bangladesh Chhatra League.
Saifur Rahman Shohagh was elected president and Zakir Hossain general secretary of the ruling Awami League-backed student organisaiton on Sunday through ballots.
The syndicate, led by former BCL president Liaqat Shikdar, on early Saturday unofficially picked Shohagh, environment secretary of the outgoing committee, as the president candidate and Zakir Hossain, an assistant secretary of the outgoing committee, as the secretary candidate in the election.
Outgoing president HM Badiuzzaman Sohag and secretary Siddiqui Nazmul Alam also backed the panel backed by Liaqat Sikder and influenced the councillors to cast their votes in their favour.
Supporters of only two candidates — Shohagh and Zakir — were seen seeking votes on the premises of Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh in the capital.
Zakir Hossain
No other panel fielded candidate in the elections though a total of eight president candidates and 16 secretary candidates, aged not more than 29, contested for the two posts.
The election was held from 10:30am to 6:00pm under supervision of its former leaders on Sunday, the last day of the two-day council session of BCL.
A total of 2,819, out of 3138 councillors – 25 each from 110 BCL units and 201 members of the central executive committee — cast ballots to elect their new leaders for a two-year term.
Chief election commissioner Sumon Kondu announced the result after counting of the ballots. Shogah bagged 2,690 votes and Zakir 2,676 votes.
‘I am happy to get the opportunity to elect my leaders through direct vote. I hope the new leadership will build the organisation based on Bangabandhu’s ideology,’ a councillor told New Age.
A councillor from northern district said that most of them were influenced to vote for Sohagh and Zakir as a number of senior leaders from the syndicate wooed them.
‘Personally I do not have contact with any of the president or secretary candidates. So, I followed the instruction of the leaders who played significant role in making me councillor,’ said a district unit secretary.
Both Shohagh, from Madaripur, and Zakir, from Moulvibazar, are students of Dhaka University.
Liaqat’s followers, in the last two councils, got elected as president and general secretary. Liaqat-led syndicates maintain a close contact across the country with the councillors.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina, also president of Awami League, while inaugurating the council session on Saturday, had said the new BCL leadership would come through casting of ballots in transparent ballot boxes
The last BCL council was held on July 11, 2011.
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