DUCSU VP Sadik Kayem Steps Away from Islami Chhatra Shibir Politics

Sadik Kayem, Vice-President (VP) of the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) and the international affairs secretary of Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir, has decided to leave the student organization’s politics, he confirmed on Monday.

Kayem said that Chhatra Shibir undergoes an internal restructuring process twice a year and that he was removed from his position during the organization’s 2026 half-yearly setup.

The development comes after Kayem was announced as the mayoral candidate of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami for Dhaka South City Corporation nearly two months ago. The announcement was made on May 1 at a divisional and thana-level officials’ conference held at the Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh (IDEB) council hall in Kakrail, Dhaka.

Following the announcement, Chhatra Shibir said that holding a position in the student organization while contesting an election on behalf of a political party was not permitted.

Kayem is currently serving as the Vice-President of DUCSU. He came into the spotlight for his role in the July-August 2024 mass uprising, where he was reportedly involved in field-level coordination and played a significant role in organizing activities during the movement.

Born in Khagrachhari, Kayem began his academic journey at Baitush Sharaf Jabbaria Adarsha Madrasa, where he completed his Dakhil examination in 2014. He later completed Alim from Baitush Sharaf Adarsha Kamil Madrasa in 2016. He then enrolled in the Department of Political Science at the University of Dhaka and completed both his undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

According to reports, Kayem became involved with Islami Chhatra Shibir politics in 2013. However, he first came into public view as the president of the Dhaka University unit of Chhatra Shibir on September 21, 2024, following the July-August uprising. Before this, open political activities under the Chhatra Shibir banner had largely remained absent on the Dhaka University campus.

Before entering Dhaka University in 2016, Kayem was reportedly involved in anti-government movements organized by Chhatra Shibir in Chattogram.

In January 2026, he took charge as the central international affairs secretary of Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir. Prior to that, he served as the organization’s central publication secretary during the 2025-2026 session.

During the July-August 2024 uprising, Kayem was known by the pseudonym “Salman.” Under this name, he was reportedly involved in arranging shelter for frontline organizers, coordinating with leaders who had become disconnected, planning and implementing daily protest programs, and communicating movement-related updates, including the nine-point demand, to the media. He also reportedly communicated with Al Jazeera journalist Zulkarnain Saer using the name Salman.

Alongside politics, Kayem has been involved with several non-political organizations. He served as an advisory worker for Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE), an organization that works against violence and abuse targeting students. He was also the general secretary of Bangladesh Youth Initiative. Additionally, he served as president of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Students’ Council and founded the social and voluntary organization Hill Society, which focuses on improving the living conditions of indigenous communities in the hill regions.

Political observers believe that after leaving Chhatra Shibir, Kayem may join Jamaat-e-Islami and contest the Dhaka South City Corporation mayoral election as the party’s candidate.