The ruling Awami League has picked its candidates for the by-elections to the Dhaka-18 and Sirajganj-1 constituencies which are unrepresented in parliament following the deaths of the previous incumbents Sahara Khatun and Mohammed Nasim, both stalwarts of the party.
Habib Hasan will contest the Dhaka vote with the 'boat' symbol while Nasim's son Tanvir Shakil Joy will run on the ruling party's ticket in Sirajganj.
Habib Hasan (left) and Tanvir Shakil Joy seen in this photo collage
The party's General Secretary Obaidul Quader announced their nominations in a virtual media briefing on Wednesday, bdnews24.com reports.
The road transport and bridges minister urged all party leaders and workers to put aside their differences and work in unison to get the candidates elected in the upcoming polls.
Joy, the vice-president of the Bangladesh Awami Swechchhasebak League, was also elected to parliament from his father's constituency in 2008. Hasan meanwhile is a former joint general secretary of the Awami League's Dhaka Metropolitan chapter.
The Dhaka-18 was vacated after the death of Sahara on July 9 while the passing of Nasim on June 13 left the Sirajganj-1 seat empty.
The by-polls to the two seats will be held using electronic voting machines (EVMs) on November 12. According to the schedule, prospective candidates have until October 13 to submit their nomination papers to the returning officers.
The nominations will then be scrutinised until October 15 while the last date for withdrawing candidature is October 22.