Raj Ahmed of DOT
The main candidates for the Sylhet-1 seat are reportedly contesting the election for the first time, but are also using leverage from their family members to win.
AKA Momen, the Awami League candidate for the seat, is the brother of Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, reports BDNews. Muhith is the incumbent lawmaker from the seat. He was ready to step aside so his brother could contest the election, but had been allegedly prepared to contest the election himself if Momen had not received enough support.
Meanwhile, BNP candidate Khandaker Abdul Muktadir, a member of the advisory council to the party chairperson, is the son of Khandaker Abdul Malik, the elected MP from the seat in 1991.
Muktadir has been running philanthropic activities in Sylhet through the Khandaker Malik Foundation, a charitable organization in his father’s name, for a long time. His supporters believe this will give him an advantage in the election.
Because of its special importance to the country’s elections, speculators are keen to watch the outcome for the Sylhet-1 seat. Historically, the party that wins this seat has always gone on to form the government.
Both the candidates are acceptable to voters, although it is unclear whether all the party members will come out to back them. Supporters believe the candidate who gets more support from party leaders and activists will win.