The July Charter chapter has reached its final stage, though political circles remain concerned about its implementation process. Meanwhile, the BNP has fully immersed itself in election-related activities.
According to responsible party sources, the process of selecting party candidates is almost complete. The list of candidates for over 200 constituencies will be finalised in the next meeting of the decision-making body of the Standing Committee, followed by official announcement of the selected names. This process is expected to be completed within a few days.
BNP leaders involved in the candidate selection process said they are initially finalising candidates for over 200 constituencies, while work on nominations for the remaining constituencies is ongoing. These also include seats allocated to partners of the simultaneous movement and the coalition partners.
Leaders concerned said that finalising candidates for 60 to 70 constituencies has become difficult due to internal conflicts and multiple strong nomination aspirants in the same area. There are complexities in allocating seats for alliance partners.
BNP is initially finalising candidates for over 200 constituencies, while work on nominations for the remaining constituencies is ongoing.
However, candidates for over 200 constituencies are being initially finalised. The list is prepared based on organisational capacity, roles in past movements, and multiple opinion polls. However, the initially selected candidate list is not final and may see changes. Those deemed unable to perform well in the field may be dropped.
Salahuddin Ahmed, a member of BNP’s Standing Committee, told Prothom Alo, “We have finalised over 200 candidates. Very soon, the Standing Committee will give them a green signal for election preparations. The committee meeting will take place within two to three days.”
100 constituencies with difficulty
Several BNP leaders working on candidate selection said that out of the 300 seats in the national parliament, determining candidates for approximately 150 seats is not very complicated. This includes around 50 seats for central leaders. However, candidate selection has become complicated in about 100 constituencies due to long-standing local political conflicts and sometimes three to four nomination aspirants.
Party sources say that BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman has already conducted multiple field surveys to assess the popularity of potential candidates. He also took the opinions of divisional leaders. Based on these evaluations, about 100 constituencies have been identified as difficult, where finalising candidates has become challenging.
In such problematic constituencies, senior leaders responsible for each division are calling the aspirants to Dhaka to ensure a single candidate is confirmed. Potential candidates are being called almost daily to the Gulshan office in Dhaka. They are being instructed, following Tarique Rahman’s guidance, that once a candidate is nominated by the party, everyone must work together in their favour.
A leader involved in this process said they are trying to convey to potential candidates that ultimately only one will receive the nomination. There are many aspirants, and if the party comes to power, others will be suitably recognised.
AZM Zahid Hossain, a Standing Committee member, is involved in candidate selection for the problematic seats in Barishal and Comilla divisions. He told Prothom Alo, “We are doing preliminary homework, talking to the candidates so that working relationships improve, and everyone can work together in the field. Once candidates are finalised, the party will announce it officially.”
A leader involved in this process said they are trying to convey to potential candidates that ultimately only one will receive the nomination.
Many active after phone calls
According to party sources, potential candidates have been instructed to start working in their election areas. BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman has already called many potential candidates to prepare for the elections. This process is being kept secret, and top leadership has instructed that it should not be revealed to rival aspirants until the election schedule is officially announced.
This reporter spoke with at least ten potential candidates who had received calls from the acting chairman within a few days. They did not want to reveal their names, fearing anger from the top leadership.
Such extreme caution has created confusion in some constituencies, with multiple candidates active, while others remain hesitant. The party’s nomination board will give the final approval to candidates.
Regarding preliminary nominations, Asadul Habib (Dulu), Rangpur divisional organisational secretary, told Prothom Alo, “From what I know, the acting chairman has called some potential candidates to start working. Many have informed me about this.”
It has been learned that preliminary nominations have been confirmed for 24 to 26 out of 33 seats in Rangpur division. Tarique Rahman, either personally or through designated party officials, has conveyed this information to potential candidates. However, Asadul Habib said that the acting chairman has not yet confirmed any nominations to him.
Md Shariful Alam, Mymensingh divisional organisational secretary, told Prothom Alo, “Candidate selection is happening, yes, but not through us. The acting chairman is taking public opinion in various ways and also taking our advice.” Shariful Alam is president of Kishoreganj district BNP and an aspirant for Kishoreganj-6 (Kuliarchar-Bhairab) constituency.
How many seats for alliance partners
So far, it is not clear to BNP’s policy-making leaders which parties and alliances outside some partners of the simultaneous movement they will ultimately align with in the upcoming national election. Some parties, including the six-party alliance Ganatantra Mancha, the 12-party alliance, the Nationalist Like-minded Alliance, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Gano Forum, and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, are interested in contesting the elections in alliance with BNP. Many of these parties and alliances have already submitted their candidate lists to BNP.
Other than this, BNP is also interested in parties of young leaders from the July mass uprising, such as National Citizens Party (NCP), Nurul Haque’s Gano Odhikar Parishad, and Maulana Mamunul Haque’s Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis. Until it is clear how many seats will be given to alliance partners or which parties will ultimately join BNP, the party will not make full candidate announcements. Once election-centric alignments are clear, seat allocations will be finalised.
Should BNP win the polls, it has announced that it will form a ‘national government’ with the partners of the anti-fascist simultaneous movement.
Seat allocation for collation partners is very complicated alongside party candidate determination. Local BNP leaders have already shown opposition to potential seat allocations for alliance leaders. There have already been incidents of protest processions in Brahmanbaria, vandalism in Kushtia party offices, and attacks on the leaders of the simultaneous movement partners in Patuakhali.
Should BNP win the polls, it has announced that it will form a ‘national government’ with the partners of the anti-fascist simultaneous movement. With this in mind, the party has collected the lists of nomination aspirants from its allies. Recently, BNP received lists totalling 106 names from two partner alliances of the simultaneous movement and five other parties. Others are pending from Ganatantra Mancha. BNP has so far announced alliance candidates for 138 seats.
According to BNP leaders’ preliminary calculations, except for NCP and Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, alliance partners are eligible for nominations in a maximum of 20 constituencies.
One candidate per family, exceptions possible
BNP’s top leadership has decided in principle not to field multiple candidates from the same family. Previously, a leader could contest multiple seats, or spouses and children could be nominated in some constituencies. This will not happen this time. The acting chairman has already discussed this with senior leaders, according to multiple party sources.
As a result, despite the willingness of several leaders, including Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Standing Committee members Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Salahuddin Ahmed, Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, and Iqbal Hasan Mahmud, to have spouses, children, or brothers contest in the polls, it will not happen. It has been learned that Tarique Rahman has already spoken with Mirza Abbas and Gayeshwar Chandra Roy regarding this.
BNP’s top leadership has decided in principle not to field multiple candidates from the same family.
Mirza Abbas intends to contest from Dhaka-8 and his wife, Afroza Abbas, from Dhaka-9. Gayeshwar Chandra Roy and his daughter-in-law Nipun Roy Chowdhury are interested in contesting as she is active in Dhaka-3 (South Keraniganj).
Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam will contest from Thakurgaon-1. His younger brother, Mirza Faisal Amin, president of the district BNP, is interested in Thakurgaon-2.
It is reported that Tarique Rahman recently called Gayeshwar Chandra Roy and Nipun Roy to ask for a decision regarding one candidate per family. Amanullah Aman has been asked to decide whether he or his son Irfan Ibne Aman will contest.
Nipun Roy told Prothom Alo that if only one candidate per family is allowed, her father-in-law Gayeshwar Chandra Roy will contest.
BNP has also decided to nominate at least 5 per cent women candidates in the national parliament this time. Therefore, out of 300 constituencies, at least 15 must be women. Due to this, exceptions to the one-candidate-a-family rule may happen.