Kamal Ibne Yusuf dies from Covid

BNP Vice Chairman and former lawmaker Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf died from Covid-19 yesterday.  He was 80.

He breathed his last at Evercare Hospital Dhaka around 1:00pm, Syrul Kabir Khan, an official of the BNP chairperson's press wing, told The Daily Star.

He left behind his wife, four daughters and a host of relatives to mourn his death.

Yusuf, a former MP from Faridpur-3, was taken to the coronary care unit of the private hospital in Gulshan on November 22. Later, he tested Covid-19 positive. He had also been suffering from lung complications for a long time, said family members.

Yusuf joined the BNP in 1979 after the party's formation led by Ziaur Rahman. He was elected an MP the same year. In 1981, he became a minister in the government of Justice Abdus Sattar. In 1991, he was elected again and was made the minister for health.

He was elected again in the general elections in 1996 even though the BNP lost the national polls to the Awami League. He also won in the 2001 elections after which he was made minister for food and disaster management.

He lost his seat in the 2008 general elections.

Family members said Yusuf would be laid to rest in the family graveyard in Faridpur after his namaz-e-janaja at Rajendra College ground tomorrow.

His daughter Nayab Yusuf is a local BNP leader. She is contesting for the post of Faridpur municipality's chairman, which goes to polls today.

Yusuf was born on May 23, 1940, in Faridpur. His grandfather Chowdhury Moizuddin Biswas was a Jamindar. His father Chowdhury Yusuf Ali (Mohon Mia) was a central leader of Muslim League.

BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir expressed deep shock at the death of Yusuf.