Awami League chief and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged party leaders and activists in Kishoreganj to campaign on behalf of Presidium member Syed Ashraful Islam.
Former Awami League General Secretary and Minister of Public Administration Ashraf is currently undergoing treatment for cancer abroad.
“Syed Ashraf is not here for the campaign. So you will do it on behalf of him,” she told party workers on Tuesday (Dec 18) through video conferencing from her Dhanmondi residence Sudha Sadan.
As part of the campaign for the national election, Hasina addressed activists of party units in Kishoreganj, Narail and Bandaraban through video conferencing.
“The people of Kishoreganj have always stood by boat (Awami League’s polls logo). I expect that to be the case this time as well,” she said.
On Syed Ashraf, who is the party’s candidate from Kishoreganj-1, Hasina said, “Syed Ashraf served as the party’s general secretary for long. He has done a lot during the 1/11 regime (army-backed caretaker govt). His contribution is immense.
“He is ill, so I urge all of you to work on behalf of him as well as pray for his recovery.”
Syed Ashraf Islam left for the UK soon after his father Syed Nazrul Islam, one of the four national leaders under Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was killed in prison in 1975.
He finally returned to Bangladesh in 1996 and became a member of parliament after running for the Kishoreganj-1 seat (Sadar and Hossainpur) on the Awami League’s ticket. He was re-elected in 2001, 2008 and 2014.
Ashraf was one of the Awami League leaders who took control of the party after Hasina was imprisoned during the state of emergency declared in 2007. He later became the party’s general secretary. He served for two terms and then became a member of the policymaking Presidium.
The 68-year-old Awami League leader is currently receiving treatment for lung cancer at Thailand’s Bumrungrad Hospital. He took leave from parliament on Sept 18 for his treatment.