After 1991, Jamaat-e-Islami has once again planned to field a presidential candidate from the opposition party. The party has decided to participate in the 23rd presidential election of the country.

However, who will be Jamaat’s presidential candidate is not yet finalized. The decision to participate in the election was made at a meeting of the party’s central executive council in the capital on Saturday night. The meeting was presided over by Jamaat’s Ameer and Opposition Leader Dr. Shafiqur Rahman.

According to party sources, Jamaat’s responsible leaders will meet with the alliance partners at the opposition leader’s house on Minto Road in the capital at 11:30 am today, Sunday. The alliance’s candidate for the presidency may be finalized based on the opinions of the partners in that meeting.

The names of Jamaat’s Nayeb-e-Ameer Dr. Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher, Secretary General Mia Ghulam Parwar and LDP Chairman Colonel (retd.) Oli Ahmed are under discussion as presidential candidates. There is also talk in the political arena that the name of a person associated with the interim government may also be proposed.

After the re-introduction of parliamentary democracy in Bangladesh, the last time an opposition party nominated a presidential candidate was in 1991. At that time, the Awami League nominated Justice Badrul Haider Chowdhury from the opposition. He was defeated by BNP candidate Abdur Rahman Biswas by 80 votes in the election.

In the presidential elections held since then, only the candidates nominated by the ruling party have been elected unopposed. As a result, Jamaat’s decision to participate in the elections this time is seen as significant from both political and historical perspectives.

In the 13th National Parliament elections held on February 12 this year, BNP won a majority of 211 seats out of 300 seats. On the other hand, the Jamaat-led alliance won 68 seats. As a result, Jamaat is giving more importance to the issue of nominating a candidate as an opposition party than the calculation of victory or defeat in the presidential election.

The party’s Assistant Secretary General Dr. AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad told the media that the party’s nomination for the presidential post has not yet been finalized. The name of the candidate will be finalized through discussions with the partners.