'Fugitive' AL leader withdraws from election, set to return to BNP

Syed AK Ekramuzzaman, an independent candidate in the 13th parliamentary election from Brahmanbaria-1 (Nasirnagar) and a "fugitive" Awami League leader, has announced his withdrawal from the race.

In a video message released last night (8 January), he claimed that he was withdrawing from the election on the instructions of BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman. Several of Ekramuzzaman's followers later shared the video on Facebook.

Ekramuzzaman, who had been expelled from the BNP for defying party decisions and contesting the 12th parliamentary election, and later joined the Awami League with much fanfare, is now set to return to the BNP. Speaking over the phone this afternoon (9 January), he confirmed the development himself.

When asked about the reason for withdrawing from the election, Ekramuzzaman said he met Tarique Rahman in Gulshan yesterday afternoon. He claimed that Rahman instructed him to withdraw from the election, assuring that his expulsion order from the BNP would be withdrawn.

"On Tarique Rahman's instructions, I am withdrawing from the election," Ekramuzzaman said. "I have already sent my people to withdraw my nomination papers. I am returning to the BNP."

Earlier, on 2 January, the returning officer declared Ekramuzzaman's nomination papers valid after scrutiny. He faces at least seven cases in Brahmanbaria and various police stations under the Dhaka Metropolitan Police over allegations of attacking students and involvement in killings during the July movement. Following the validation of his nomination despite his "fugitive" status in police records, the Nasirnagar upazila unit of the BNP expressed strong resentment.

According to sources, Ekramuzzaman contested the previous 12th parliamentary election from Brahmanbaria-1 (Nasirnagar) as an independent candidate and won. He later joined the Awami League. Prior to that, he had been involved in BNP politics for a long time and served as an adviser to the party's late chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia. However, for contesting the election in defiance of party directives, the BNP central leadership expelled him from all party posts, including primary membership, on 28 November 2023.

After winning the election, Ekramuzzaman formally joined the Awami League on 13 February 2024 at a meeting with former housing and public works minister and Brahmanbaria district Awami League president RAM Obaidul Moktadir Chowdhury at the Dhaka Boat Club, alongside public representatives from Nasirnagar upazila.