Former information and broadcasting minister Professor Dr Abu Sayeed has joined the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
On Wednesday afternoon, he formally joined the party by presenting a bouquet to BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at the BNP chairperson’s political office in Gulshan, Dhaka.
The information was confirmed via a post on the BNP’s verified Facebook page later that afternoon.
Prof Sayeed carries a distinguished historical and political legacy. He was a freedom fighter who served in Sector 7 during the Liberation War.
In 1972, he held the distinction of being the youngest member of the committee formed to draft the Constitution of Bangladesh.
He was elected a member of parliament from Pabna-1 in the first parliament in 1973 and again in the seventh parliament in 1996. During the Awami League government in 1996, he served as State Minister for Information.
After the 1/11 political changeover, he came to be known as a reformist and did not receive an Awami League nomination in the 2008 parliamentary election.
He contested the 2014 parliamentary election as an independent candidate but was defeated.
In the 11th parliamentary election in 2018, he contested from Pabna-1 seat as a candidate of the BNP-led alliance Jatiya Oikyafront, but also lost.
Additionally, Abu Sayeed, served as state minister for information during Sheikh Hasina’s first cabinet.
