BNP activists clash on Gulshan office premises

Activists of Bangladesh Nationalist Party clashed on the party chairman’s Gulshan office premises on Saturday while interviews of nomination seekers for the upcoming by-polls in four parliamentary seats were going on.

Witnesses said supporters of four nomination seekers of two Dhaka city constituencies in the upcoming by-polls locked horns more than once.

Supporters of Dhaka-5 constituency’s nomination seekers Nabiullah Nabi and Salahuddin Ahmed first engaged in clashes.

Activists loyal to Dhaka-18 seat’s nomination seekers M Kofil Uddin Ahmed and SM Jahangir Hossain later locked into clashes which left 7-8 BNP men injured.

Kofil alleged that Jahangir’s men swooped on his activists leaving at least 10 injured. Two of them were critically injured and undergoing treatment at hospital.

Jahangir told Prothom Alo that he will investigate the incident of the clash and will take disciplinary actions against those involved.

BNP interviewed a total of 28 aspirants for four vacant seats of parliament. The party’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman, secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and other members of the nomination board took the virtual interviews.

BNP sources said the party might announce their candidates for Dhaka-5 and Noagaon-6 seats on Saturday night. Candidates of Dhaka-18 and Sirajganj-1 would be declared after announcement of the polls schedule.

Dhaka-5 and Naogaon-6 by-polls are scheduled for 1 October, according to the election commission.