With the upcoming national parliamentary election looming, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is seeking to finalise its seat-sharing arrangements with allied parties without delay.
To this end, the party has asked its allies in the simultaneous movement against the “fascist Awami League government” to submit lists of their prospective nominees.
According to party sources, the matter was discussed at the BNP standing committee meeting held on Tuesday night.
Senior leaders at the policy-making level want to finalise allied parties’ nominations quickly so as to dispel uncertainty and confusion within the coalition, thereby enabling parties to commence activities in their respective constituencies.
Some leaders of certain parties and alliances have already been asked verbally to provide lists of their candidates.
Mustafa Jamal Haider, head of the 12-party alliance—one of the BNP’s partners in the simultaneous movement—told Prothom Alo on Wednesday, “BNP has been in touch. We shall sit together on the matter of nominations within the next few days.”
As allies in the simultaneous movement, we shall hold meetings on electoral strategy and equations. At the same time, we shall also address the disagreements regarding reform implementation.Zonayed Saki, chief coordinator of Ganosamhati Andolan
However, two senior BNP leaders, speaking on condition of anonymity, disclosed that green signals have already been given regarding nominations to certain top leaders of allied groups, including Shahadat Hossain Selim, chairman of Bangladesh LDP.
The BNP has also requested a list from leaders of Ganatantra Mancha, another allied bloc in the simultaneous movement. A member of the BNP standing committee in charge of liaison reportedly phoned leaders of Ganatantra Mancha yesterday regarding this issue.
Senior leaders at the policy-making level want to finalise allied parties’ nominations quickly so as to dispel uncertainty and confusion within the coalition, thereby enabling parties to commence activities in their respective constituencies.
Confirming the development, Mahmudur Rahman Manna, president of Nagarik Oikya and a leading figure in Ganatantra Mancha, told Prothom Alo, “We believe our strategy in the election, and whom we shall be facing, should first be decided. Only after that comes the question of candidate lists.”
Discussions with senior leaders of several parties within Ganatantra Mancha indicate that they do not wish to sit with the BNP solely to discuss nominations or candidate lists; they also want prior dialogue on election strategy and the implementation of reforms.
In this context, Zonayed Saki, chief coordinator of Ganosamhati Andolan, told Prothom Alo, “As allies in the simultaneous movement, we shall hold meetings on electoral strategy and equations. At the same time, we shall also address the disagreements regarding reform implementation.”
BNP sources state that liaison with left-leaning parties such as Ganatantra Mancha is being handled by Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and Iqbal Hasan Mahmud.
We believe our strategy in the election, and whom we shall be facing, should first be decided. Only after that comes the question of candidate lists.Mahmudur Rahman Manna, president of Nagarik Oikya and a leading figure in Ganatantra Mancha
Liaison with Islamic and other parties is under the charge of Nazrul Islam Khan, Abdul Awal Mintoo, and Barkatullah Bulu.
Discussion on the secretary general’s interview
According to sources present in the meeting, BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman presided virtually over Tuesday night’s standing committee session.
The meeting discussed the current political situation, the confusion created by various quarters regarding the forthcoming national election, and the process of selecting party candidates, the source added.
Several members of the standing committee confirmed that the interview of BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, published in Kolkata-based Bengali daily, Ei Samay, was also raised in the discussion. Fakhrul himself joined virtually from the United States.
Sources said that in the meeting, Mirza Fakhrul stated that the words attributed to him in the interview were not what he had said. The party’s top leadership instructed him to clear up the confusion.
Later that night, BNP’s central office issued a statement declaring the Ei Samay interview to be utterly false and fabricated.
Earlier, Sayrul Kabir Khan of the BNP media cell had circulated a statement to the press asserting that the interview had been misrepresented and was misleading.
In a separate statement released on Tuesday night in the name of BNP assistant office secretary Taiful Islam, the party said, “Recently the BNP secretary general has not given any interview to any foreign media. The concocted interview has been disseminated with the ulterior motive of tarnishing the image of the party and the secretary general. The purpose of this fabricated statement is to sow suspicion and doubt in the minds of the Bangladeshi people.”