20-party backs BNP candidates in Dhaka city polls

The 20-party alliance on Friday extended its support to the mayoral candidates of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the upcoming elections to Dhaka south and north city corporations.

BNP standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan made the announcement after a meeting of the alliance at its chairperson’s Gulshan office in the capital, reports news agency UNB.

It was also decided in the meeting to organise a discussion in the city on 30 December to register the opposition allainace's protest against the 11th parliamentary election, which will mark its first anniversary on the day.

The BNP leader said the 20-party meeting strongly denounced the recent attack on Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) vice-president Nurul Haque and demanded punishment to those involved in the incident.

The alliance also condemned the attack on Bangla newspaper 'Dainik Sangram' and ‘repression on its editor,' he added.

Nazrul said the 20-party will observe the Golden Jubilee of the country’s independence through various programmes from 26 March 2020 to 26 March 2021.

The BNP leader also said their alliance formed a sub-committee to work out programmes to observe the Golden Jubilee.

Nazrul Islam said their meeting also denounced the “provocative” remarks by Indian home minister Amit Shah and external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar involving the BNP and Khaleda Zia over the repression of minority communities in 2002.