Abid pledges to stand by students

Despite his defeat in the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) election, BNP-backed candidate Abidul Islam Abid has pledged to stand by the students in line with his manifesto. He also thanked all students of the university for casting their votes.

Abidul made the statement on Wednesday (September 10) through a post on his verified Facebook account.

In his post, he wrote: “In this short life, I never thought I would come this far. On the night before the election, brother Khaled Muhiuddin asked me where I see myself after five years. I could not give him any proper answer. In truth, I never really knew where I should see myself, or where I was supposed to be.

One after another, movements and struggles have come, and I have thrown myself into the streets. That path has brought me this far today. It’s okay. On election day, my day began with media propaganda. From noon, I found problems in various polling places, and I spent the whole day addressing those issues.”

Expressing hope that the university administration will conduct proper investigations and take appropriate measures on the issues, Abidul Islam further wrote, “As human beings, none of us is perfect. I know I could not do enough for you. To be honest, life never gave me that chance. I wholeheartedly thank all my brothers and sisters of Dhaka University for coming out to vote. In just a 20-day campaign, I tried to reach every student of this university. I came quite close, but perhaps I could not reach everyone. Still, I assure you, my journey does not end here — it has only begun.”

Reaffirming his commitment to the students, he added, “I am still a student leader of the Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Chhatra Dal at Dhaka University. I promise that whatever was in my manifesto, I will continue to fight for those demands as a student leader, and I will take the necessary steps with the administration. The new beginning of student politics at Dhaka University will start with us. We will guard the streets as vigilant sentinels, and we will give our utmost to bring a positive change to student politics across Bangladesh. Inshallah, you will see the reflection of this in the next DUCSU. Abid will never abandon you.”

Chief Returning Officer Professor Mohammad Jasim Uddin announced the final results of the DUCSU election. According to the results, Islami Chhatrashibir’s candidate Shadik Kayem was elected Vice President with 14,042 votes. His closest rival, Chhatra Dal’s Abidul Islam Khan, received 5,708 votes.