'Casino Sayeed' lets 'eagle' fly, extends support for 'boat'
Sayeed submitted his nomination form as an independent candidate after failing to secure an Awami League ticket
Mominul Haque Sayeed, who is contesting the polls on January 7 with the "eagle" symbol from the Brahmanbaria-5 (Nabinagar) seat, has announced his withdrawal from the electoral race, extending his support for Awami League candidate Fayzur Rahman.
On Sunday, Mominul and his supporters campaigned for the "boat" candidate, NovoAir Chairman, and Tusuka Group's Managing Director Fayzur Rahman in different areas of Nabinagar.
Jubo League leader Sayeed became known as "Casino Sayeed" in the wake of the Rapid Action Battalion's crackdown against the casino business in 2019.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Based in Brahmanbaria's Thollankandi village in Nabinagar, Sayeed reportedly started an illegal casino business at the Wanderers Club in Motijheel after being elected as the ward councilor of Dhaka South City Corporation in 2015. He left the country to escape the RAB operation and returned home once it was over.
When asked about leaving the electoral field, Sayeed, who submitted his nomination form as an independent candidate after failing to secure an Awami League ticket, said, "Not under any pressure, but rather for the sake of the boat, I have withdrawn myself from the race."
"As there is no longer any chance of withdrawing the candidacy, I have informed the Election Commission as well as the voters of Nabinagar about my decision," he added.
He also mentioned that he could not withdraw his candidacy on time due to his stay abroad for medical purposes.
Nabinagar Upazila Nirbahi Officer and Assistant Returning Officer Tanveer Farhad said, "Although he has announced his withdrawal from the election race, the ballot paper will have his name and symbol as the deadline for withdrawing candidacy has expired."
Apart from Awami League's Fayzur Rahman, Jatiya Party's Mubarak Hossain, Islami Oikya Jote Mehedi Hasan, Bangladesh Supreme Party's Md Jamal Sarkar, Bangladesh Tariqat Federation's Syed Zafarul Quddus, and Trinamool BNP nominated candidate Mufti Habibur Rahman are contesting the upcoming election from Brahmanbaria-5. The number of voters in this seat is 432,307 people.
