Rahmatullah, Hasnat made AL’s Dhaka north, south presidents

AKM Rahmatullah and Abul Hasnat have been made presidents of Awami League's Dhaka north and south city units.

On the other hand, Sadek Khan and Shahey Alam Murad were named as general secretaries for the AL's north and south city units.

This is the first time AL announced separate committees splitting Dhaka city committee into two, Dhaka north and south.

Syed Ashraful Islam, general secretary of AL, declared the new committees today at a press conference at the party president's Dhanmondi office around 11:00am, three months after expiring of the committee's three-year tenure.

Hasnat was president of Lalbagh AL Thana unit and Murad was organising secretary of the south city unit while Rahamatullah was Dhaka-11 MP and Sadek Khan was general secretary of Dhaka north.

City AL held the last three-yearly council on December 27, 2012 and the tenure expired on December 26, 2015. That council did not see any voting, hence no new leaders.

In the last council, nearly 2,000 councillors and 3,000 delegates gathered to elect new leadership but it ended without any voting.

Before today, the AL had one committee for Dhaka city and the city leaders, who were elected in 2003, and are still at the helm.

The city unit's December 2012 council took place nine years after the previous one, held on June 18, 2003, where Mohammad Hanif was made president and Maya general secretary. After Hanif's demise on November 28, 2006, MA Aziz was made acting president. Aziz died on January 23 this year.

There are 26 thanas, 103 wards and 17 union units under Dhaka city. The city AL held councils at all units except two -- Jatrabari and Demra thanas -- but announced full committees only in four--Dhanmondi, Hazaribagh, New Market and Kalabagan.

After the Dhaka city corporation elections in April last year, Hasina gave responsibilities to party central leaders Faruk Khan and Abdur Razzak to prepare two lists for two committees of Dhaka city, and after consulting with city leaders they submitted two draft committees in December 2015.

Click to view Dhaka South Committee

Click to view Dhaka North Committee