Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan on Thursday announced that he will contest the forthcoming BCB election, ending a long speculation over his position.
Nazmul was openly leading a camp ahead of the election but had never publicly admitted his candidature, which kept his BCB colleagues somewhat restrained in an otherwise fierce election campaign.
Former BCB president Saber Hossain Chowdhury last week announced that he will be a candidate for the president post, apparently throwing a challenge to incumbent Nazmul.
The BCB president had earlier stated that he would not take any side as there is more than one panel in the election, though he consistently engaged himself in a war of words against his rival group.
Nazmul had held countless meetings with different stakeholders in the election before finally making his decision public following a meeting with a dissident group of District and Divisional Sports Organisers’ Forum.
‘So far I know I will contest the election,’ Nazmul told a press conference on Thursday. ‘Initially I had no plan to participate in the election. But I had to change my mind gradually.
‘The dirty politics and lying they [Forum} have started, everybody was afraid of it and no one wanted to come forward to face it. I also thought not to get involved. But later I thought if I don’t come forward it will be their victory.
‘None of us has enough courage to take a position against them. Since I came forward I will now see the end,’ said the BCB president, who denied playing any role in naming coouncillors at district level.
‘Why should I make a call to the deputy commissioners of the districts? We have not sought the counclilloreship from the districts yet, neither did we send any form. So there is no question of trying to influence,’ said Nazmul.
Forum leaders earlier alleged that an official of the Prime Minister’s office, who is also a close friend of Nazmul, has been making phone calls to the DCs seeking councillorship for the selected people.
Forum also announced that they will not support Nazmul in the election in any case.
Nazmul said he does not need any support from Forum, which is not a recognised body and only a pressure group, which becomes active only during the election of different federations.
Nazmul was successful in creating a division in the Forum as a number of district and divisional organisers joined him in Thursday’s meeting to lend their support for him.
‘A total of 49 representatives, including 32 general secretaries from different districts and divisions, were present in the meeting with the president,’ said AZM Nasir, a BCB ad hoc committee member, who is also a Forum vice-president.
‘Some more Forum members were supposed to come but couldn’t attend the meeting for different reasons. But they extended their support to us,’ he added.
Nasir, general secretary of the Chittagong District Sports Association,
blasted Forum saying it gave up the initial goal of working for the development of sports at the grassroots level.
‘Forum was formed for the development of sports at the grassroots level but from what we’ve seen in the recent days they became election-centric,’ said Nasir.
-With New Age input
