Dr Pran Gopal Dutta declared winner of Cumilla-7 constituency

Dr Pran Gopal Dutta, the ruling Awami League (AL) nominee, has been declared the winner uncontested for the by-election of Cumilla-7 (Chandina) constituency.

A notification issued by Cumilla Regional Election Officer Dulal Talukder confirmed the matter today.

"Dr Pran Gopal has been declared the winner as yesterday was the last day to withdraw the nominations formally," he said adding that there is no point of holding an election on the scheduled date (7 October) after two out of the three candidates withdrew their nominations.

Earlier on 16 September, Jatiya Party candidate Lutfur Reza Khokon, who is also the central vice chairman and party convener of Cumilla District (north), withdrew his nomination, ditching the election race. Later, National Awami Party (NAP) candidate Monirul Islam withdrew his nomination on Saturday (18 September).  

As a result, Dr Pran Gopal Dutta was the only candidate left for the Cumilla-7 by-election.

As per the election schedule, the date for symbol allocation was 20 September and EVM voting for the by-election was scheduled to be held on 7 October in that constituency.

The former vice-chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Dr Pran Gopal Datta was nominated for the National Parliament Seat No 255 (Cumilla-7) by Awami League on 11 September.  

He said, "I will call a press conference after taking the official oath and give details on what kind of work I am going to do next."

The constituency was declared vacant after the death of Cumilla-7 constituency AL lawmaker and former deputy speaker Ali Ashraf on 30 July.