A total of 25 candidates have withdrawn their nominations from 20 parliamentary constituencies in Dhaka Metropolitan City, election officials said today.

Tahjib Hassan Rhythm, information officer at the returning officer’s office, confirmed the development to The Daily Star.

Of the 193 candidates whose nominations were declared valid in these constituencies, 168 candidates are now left in the race.

Among those who withdrew, four candidates were from Jamaat-e-Islami and two from the National Citizen Party (NCP).

One candidate each withdrew from Islami Andolon Bangladesh, Gonoforum, Labour Party, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Ganosamhati Andolon, Nezam-e-Islam Party, and the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-JSD.

In addition, two candidates from the AB Party, two from Khelafat Andolon, five from Khelafat Majlis, and three from Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis also withdrew from the race.

The candidates who withdrew include Farhat Hossain of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis from Dhaka-1; Afzal Hossain of Jamaat-e-Islami from Dhaka-19; Abdur Rauf of Jamaat-e-Islami from Dhaka-20; and AKM Enamul Haque of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis from Dhaka-20.

In Dhaka-13, Murad Hossain of Islami Andolon Bangladesh withdrew, while AKM Shofiqul Islam of Gonoforum pulled out in Dhaka-15.

In Dhaka-5 constituency, four candidates withdrew their nominations: SM Shaharia of NCP, Atikur Rahman Nannu Munshi of Khelafat Andolon, Mokhlesur Rahman Kasemi of Nezam-e-Islam Party, and Lutfar Rahman of AB Party.

In Dhaka-6, Gazi Nasir of the AB Party withdrew his nomination, while Tarek Ahmed Adel of NCP withdrew from Dhaka-7.

Kabir Ahmed of Jamaat-e-Islami and Fayez Bakhsh Sarkar of Khelafat Majlis withdrew from Dhaka-9.

Dhaka-10 also saw two withdrawals: Ahmad Ali of Khelafat Majlis and Syed Belayet Hossain Belal of JSD.

In Dhaka-12, Muhammad Mustafizur Rahman Iran of the Labour Party withdrew his nomination.

Two candidates stepped down in Dhaka-16: Ahsan Ullah of Khelafat Andolon and Rifat Hossain Malik of Khelafat Majlis, while Emdadul Haque of Khelafat Majlis withdrew from Dhaka-17.

The highest number of withdrawals was recorded in Dhaka-18, where five candidates pulled out of the race. They are Bilquis Nasima Rahman of Ganosamhati Andolon, Muhammad Ashraful Haque of Jamaat-e-Islami, Mofizul Islam of LDP, Saif Uddin Ahmed Khandaker of Khelafat Majlis, and Mohammad Niyatmatullah (Amin) of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis.