Hours after conducting daylong campaign activities and showdowns as a chairman candidate for the upcoming Union Parishad election, local BNP leader Saiful Islam Khokon passed away suddenly following a cardiac arrest. Addressing his supporters at a reception and street rally earlier in the day, he had confidently declared, "No one can pull me away from the election as long as I am alive." He breathed his last at around 1:30 AM on Monday (September 7) while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Gouripur Bazar, Daudkandi. His abrupt demise has cast a deep pall of gloom over his family, political allies, and the entire locality.The deceased, Saiful Islam Khokon, served as the former Joint Convener of Chandina Upazila BNP and Vice President of Cumilla North District Juba Dal. As a prospective chairman candidate for Suhilpur Union, he had been actively campaigning across the area for a long time.According to relatives and party sources, Khokon held a massive rally with his followers throughout Monday, culminating in a speech at a street meeting in Shalikha Bazar in the evening. During his address, he expressed strong confidence in receiving the nomination from local Member of Parliament Atiqul Alam Shawn and reaffirmed his stance in the electoral race. However, shortly after returning home, having dinner, and going to bed, he experienced severe chest pain. He was rushed to the hospital, where doctors were unable to save him.Atiqul Alam Shawn, Member of Parliament for the Cumilla-7 constituency, remarked that his premature death is an irreparable loss to local politics. Supporters and local residents remain stunned by the passing of this dedicated leader who was associated with the party for a long time. Fellow party members are finding it difficult to accept that a man who was spreading electoral enthusiasm just hours earlier has departed so suddenly.