Former BNP vice-president Abdus Salam Pintu and the party’s publicity secretary Sultan Salahuddin Tuku, who are siblings, emerged victorious in the 13th national election from Tangail constituencies. Pintu secured his third term in Tangail-2 (Gopalpur-Bhuapur) by garnering the highest number of votes in the district, defeating the Jamaat candidate with a total of 198,867 votes. On the other hand, Pintu’s younger brother Tuku clinched his first victory in Tangail-5 with 131,279 votes, also defeating the Jamaat candidate.
Pintu, the founding general secretary of Tangail district BNP, previously served as a member of parliament in 1991, 1996, and 2001. He was appointed as the deputy minister of education in 2001. Following his arrest in the August 21 grenade attack case in January 2008, he was sentenced to death and remained in prison until his release on December 24, 2024, after the change in government. He won by a significant margin of 138,000 votes.
During Pintu’s imprisonment, Tuku contested from Tangail-2 twice unsuccessfully. However, this time, he ran in Tangail-5 and secured victory by over 50,000 votes against his closest rival, despite facing competition from a rebel BNP candidate in addition to the Jamaat candidate. Tuku’s political background includes roles as the former convener of the Dhaka University unit Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), former central president of JCD, and former president of the central unit of Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal. He had faced around 300 cases during the previous Awami League administration and spent a minimum of five years in prison. According to party sources, Tuku was highly regarded by the late BNP chairperson Khaled Zia.
Following their landslide victories, the brothers have pledged to prioritize the well-being of the people in their constituency.