Md Abul Kalam, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Chaity Group, has been officially announced as the panel leader of Sammilito Parishad, a major group representing the country’s garment manufacturers.

The announcement was made on Thursday at an event held at a Radisson Blu in Dhaka, ahead of the upcoming elections for the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

Among those present at the event were former BGMEA presidents Faruque Hassan, Redwan Ahmed, Mostofa Golam Quddus, Kazi Moniruzzaman, SM Fazlul Hoque, and Khandoker Rafiqul Islam.

Sammilito Parishad and Forum, another panel, are traditional rivals in BGMEA elections, vying for control of the apex body of Bangladesh’s apparel sector.

Earlier, on October 20, the Ministry of Commerce dissolved BGMEA’s Board of Directors in accordance with Section 17 of the Trade Organizations Act, 2022. The Ministry appointed Md Anwar Hossain, Vice Chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), as the administrator of BGMEA.

According to the ministry’s announcement, the administrator will oversee the holding of free and fair elections within 120 days and will hand over the responsibilities to the newly elected BGMEA leadership.

On August 24, Designtex Group Managing Director Khandoker Rafiqul Islam was elected president of BGMEA following the resignation of SM Mannan Kochi.

Mannan Kochi, a member of Sammilito Parishad, had been elected BGMEA president for the 2024-26 term on March 14.

After his resignation, BGMEA’s board selected Rafiqul Islam to serve for the remainder of the term.

In August, a group of BGMEA members led by Forum, another panel, demanded the dissolution of the current BGMEA board.

They cited the board’s failure to provide adequate guidance to members during challenging times, including the student protests, government instability, labor unrest, and flooding.

The group also alleged irregularities in the BGMEA election held earlier this year, claiming that Kochi had close ties with the ousted prime minister and had been involved in suppressing student protests during the July-August unrest.

Earlier, on November 20, another election-focused panel of BGMEA, the Forum, announced Mahmud Hasan Khan, Managing Director of Rising Group, as the panel leader for the upcoming trade body elections.