Two MPs, a former athlete vie for MSC president’s post

Two Members of Parliament from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) -- Barkat Ullah Bulu and Zainul Abedin Farroque -- along with former national hockey player Sajeed AA Adel, have filed nominations to contest the president’s post in the upcoming elections of Mohammedan Sporting Club Limited, scheduled for March 9.

Of the three presidential hopefuls, Farroque and Adel have also submitted nomination papers for director positions. The deadline for submission expired on Tuesday.

In total, 28 candidates have entered the race for the 16 director posts, although 36 nomination papers had earlier been sold for one president’s position and 16 director slots.

Notable director candidates include Enayet Hossain Siraj, Lokam Hossain Bhuiyan, Masuduzzaman, Engineer Kabir Ahmed Bhuiyan, Mahbub Ul Anam, Manjur Alam, Khairul Kabir Khokon, Mostafa Kamal, Sayeed Hasan Kanon, Syed Rummon Wali Bin Sabbir, Abul Hasan Chowdhury Prince, MA Salam, Zakir Hossain Chowdhury, Amirul Islam Babu and Ariful Islam Prince.

Scrutiny of nomination papers and hearings on objections will be held on Wednesday from 12:00pm to 4:00pm, after which the election committee will publish the list of valid candidates in the afternoon. Aspirants will be allowed to withdraw their nominations between 5:00pm and 6:00pm on the same day, in line with the election schedule.

The final list of candidates will be announced on Thursday ahead of the March 9 polls, where 371 members are expected to cast their votes to elect a president and 16 directors for a two-year term at one of the country’s most prominent sporting organisations.