Cumilla-4 constituency: Jamaat candidate pulls out for Hasnat Abdullah

National Citizen Party (NCP) chief organiser for the southern region Hasnat Abdullah is contesting the 13th Jatiya Sangsad (national parliament) election from the Cumilla-4 (Debidwar) constituency.

As part of an electoral understanding between the NCP and Jamaat-e-Islami, the Jamaat-nominated candidate for this seat, Saiful Islam (Shahid), has announced his withdrawal from the race.

The NCP last Sunday declared that it will contest the 13th parliamentary election in alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami and eight like-minded parties.

Within hours of a press conference held in Dhaka yesterday by senior leaders of the alliance, Jamaat’s nominated candidate for Cumilla-4 (Debidwar), Saiful Islam, announced that he was stepping aside from the election.

Saiful Islam is the secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami’s Cumilla north district unit. The home constituency of NCP nominee Hasnat Abdullah falls within this seat.

On 23 December, NCP leaders and activists, accompanied by members of families of the July martyrs, collected nomination papers on behalf of Hasnat Abdullah.

The Jamaat-nominated candidate had also collected nomination papers for the constituency.

On Sunday night, Saiful Islam announced his decision to withdraw from the electoral race through a post on his Facebook account.

In the post, he wrote, “Alhamdulillah. In accordance with the decision of the central organisation, I have withdrawn myself from the election. May Allah grant us the strength to remain steadfast on the path of establishing ‘dwin’ (religion) throughout our lives.”

Speaking on the matter, Saiful Islam said, “I have welcomed the decision taken by the organisation and withdrawn from the election accordingly.”

“I pray to the Almighty for the sacrifices of our workers, who have always stood by me. Even though I am withdrawing from the election, I will continue to stand beside the people of Debidwar at all times,” he further said.

Stating that he may not be able to fully meet the love and expectations of the people, Saiful Islam said, “I believe that the organisation’s decision will ultimately bring about positive outcomes.”