JCD elects new president, gen secretary

Fazlur Rahman Khokon has been elected president and Iqbal Hossain Shyamol general secretary of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the pro-BNP student body.

BNP Standing Committee Member Mirza Abbas declared the new committee on behalf of party acting chief Tarique Rahman, now in London, early yesterday after the voting at his home.

Some 481 councillors voted to elect their leaders from nine aspirants vying for the post of president and 19 for the general secretary post in JCD’s sixth council.

Khokon won in a tight race bagging 186 votes, while his opponent Kazi Rownakul Islam Shrabon got 178 votes.

Shyamol bagged 139 votes and won the post of general secretary against his nearest contender Zakirul Islam’s 74 votes.

The JCD held polls for electing its president and general secretary after 27 years in line with a court injunction regarding its council.

The voting began at Abbas’ home around 8:40pm and continued until 12:30am. Several hundred JCD councillors from its 117 units across the country gathered there to vote.

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and M Ilias Ali were elected president and general secretary of JCD through direct voting in 1992.

The JCD’s last committee was formed on October 14, 2014, with Rajib Ahsan as its president and Akramul Hasan general secretary, and it was dissolved on June 3.