Ariful Haque Chowdhury- File Photo

SYLHET, Feb 14, 2026 (BSS) - Ariful Haque Chowdhury, advisor to BNP chairman, has been elected Member of Parliament from Sylhet-4 constituency with a margin of more than one lakh votes in the 13th national parliamentary election.

According to official results, BNP candidate Ariful Haque Chowdhury secured 181,609 votes with the party's electoral symbol "Sheaf of Paddy," defeating his nearest rival, Joynal Abedin of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, who received 71,391 votes.

Ariful Haque Chowdhury is widely regarded as a grassroots politician. He began his political career as a councilor of Sylhet City Corporation, where he served as President of the Urban Development Committee. During that period, he worked closely as a development partner of the then Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman.

He later went on to serve two consecutive terms as Mayor of Sylhet City Corporation starting in 2013, before securing his first parliamentary victory in the recent national election.

Speaking to BSS at his residence after Jumma prayers on Friday, Chowdhury expressed deep gratitude to voters in Jaintapur, Gowainghat, and Companiganj upazilas.

"I am grateful to the people for electing me with such a huge mandate. I thank Almighty Allah. I do not have the power to repay the debt of love and trust the people have shown by electing me as their MP," he said.

He added that fulfilling the expectations of the people would be his top priority.

"The people have voted for roads, schools and colleges, mosques, madrasas, churches, crematoriums, gas supply, and the creation of opportunities for traditional stone quarrying. Workers' issues must also be addressed. After taking oath, I will sit with the people of my constituency and begin work based on short-, medium-, and long-term priority plans, Insha Allah," he said.

Referring to the broader political landscape, Chowdhury said that 18 Members of Parliament from BNP have been elected from Sylhet Division.

"We will sit together and formulate a comprehensive development plan for Sylhet," he said.

He also mentioned BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman, stating that Sylhet holds special significance for the party leadership.

"The people of Sylhet have shown their respect by voting for the paddy sheaf symbol. They want an end to long-standing deprivation. We will work with that hope and plan to take Sylhet forward," he added.