Sohag, Zakir elected BCL president, GS

Saifur Rahman Sohag and Zakir Hossain have been elected respectively the next president and general secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the associate student wing of the ruling Awami League (AL).
Sohag, incumbent environment secretary of the BCL, and Zakir, assistant secretary, were elected by 3,138 BCL councilors came to the 28th national council of the organisation from across the country.

Sohag bagged 2,690 votes while Zakir received 2,676 votes. A total of 10 contestants vied for the president post while the number was 18 for the position of the general secretary.
Voting at the council began around 11am under the supervision of BCL election commission at the Institution of Engineers in the capital and it ended around 6pm.
Although central BCL leaders had nominated Sohag and Zakir respectively the president and secretary of the organisation, the scenario changed after Sheikh Hasina, prime minister and also the AL president, while addressing the inaugural session of the council on Saturday, said the new leadership must be elected through voting.
After the premier’s dictation, a voting was held to elect the new leadership where Sohag and Zakir emerged as the winners.  
However, sources said yesterday’s voting to elect the next BCL leadership was ‘an eyewash’ as the duo had been selected earlier.
Sohag and Zakir were the candidates of a syndicate of former BCL president Liyakat Sikdar and the syndicate was backed by Obaidul Quader, AL presidium member and also the road, transport and bridges minister.
There is an allegation that the Liyakat Sikdar syndicate forced the other aspirants for the president and general secretary posts to withdraw their candidatures saying that ‘Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina herself gave her nod to this syndicate’.
During yesterday’s voting, this correspondent found that some BCL leaders chanted slogans and sought votes in favour of the Sohag-Zakir panel, saying ‘Sohag-Zakir parishad is the parishad of Sheikh Hasina’. However, no leaders were seen seeking votes in favour of other aspirants.   
Sohag is now 27 and completed his Honors and Masters degrees from linguistics department at the University of Dhaka while Zakir Hossain is now 25 and completed his studies from the department of political science at the same university.
Talking to this correspondent yesterday, Sohag said his father is a high school teacher and his two elder brothers are currently staying in Sweden and they too are involved in AL politics.
He completed HSC from Govt Nazimuddin College and SCC from United Govt Islamia High School in Madaripur.
Zakir’s father is a primary school teacher. Zakir completed HSC and SSC from Rajuk Uttara Model School and College.
Earlier, on Saturday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the much-awaited 28th central council of the BCL at Suhrawardi Udyan in the capital. The last BCL council was held in July, 2011.

Sohag, Zakir elected BCL president, GS

Saifur Rahman Sohag and Zakir Hossain have been elected respectively the next president and general secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the associate student wing of the ruling Awami League (AL). Sohag, incumbent environment secretary of the BCL, and Zakir, assistant secretary, were elected by 3,138 BCL councilors came to the 28th national council of the organisation from across the country. Sohag bagged 2,690 votes while Zakir received 2,676 votes. A total of 10 contestants vied for the president post while the number was 18 for the position of the general secretary. Voting at the council began around 11am under the supervision of BCL election commission at the Institution of Engineers in the capital and it ended around 6pm. Although central BCL leaders had nominated Sohag and Zakir respectively the president and secretary of the organisation, the scenario changed after Sheikh Hasina, prime minister and also the AL president, while addressing the inaugural session of the council on Saturday, said the new leadership must be elected through voting. After the premiers dictation, a voting was held to elect the new leadership where Sohag and Zakir emerged as the winners. However, sources said yesterdays voting to elect the next BCL leadership was an eyewash as the duo had been selected earlier. Sohag and Zakir were the candidates of a syndicate of former BCL president Liyakat Sikdar and the syndicate was backed by Obaidul Quader, AL presidium member and also the road, transport and bridges minister. There is an allegation that the Liyakat Sikdar syndicate forced the other aspirants for the president and general secretary posts to withdraw their candidatures saying that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina herself gave her nod to this syndicate. During yesterdays voting, this correspondent found that some BCL leaders chanted slogans and sought votes in favour of the Sohag-Zakir panel, saying Sohag-Zakir parishad is the parishad of Sheikh Hasina. However, no leaders were seen seeking votes in favour of other aspirants. Sohag is now 27 and completed his Honors and Masters degrees from linguistics department at the University of Dhaka while Zakir Hossain is now 25 and completed his studies from the department of political science at the same university. Talking to this correspondent yesterday, Sohag said his father is a high school teacher and his two elder brothers are currently staying in Sweden and they too are involved in AL politics. He completed HSC from Govt Nazimuddin College and SCC from United Govt Islamia High School in Madaripur. Zakirs father is a primary school teacher. Zakir completed HSC and SSC from Rajuk Uttara Model School and College. Earlier, on Saturday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the much-awaited 28th central council of the BCL at Suhrawardi Udyan in the capital. The last BCL council was held in July, 2011.