13th JS elections: Total candidates 1,981 with 288 of BNP and 224 of Jamaat

A total of 1,981 candidates are contesting the 13th Jatiya Sangsad (national parliament) elections in 298 constituencies.

Of them, 1,732 are candidates from 51 registered political parties, while 249 are independent candidates.

Tuesday was the final day for the withdrawal of nominations. A day later, on Wednesday night, the Election Commission (EC) released party-wise candidate statistics for the 298 constituencies.

Voting will be held in all 300 parliamentary seats on 12 February. The deadline for withdrawal of nominations in Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 has been extended until 24 January.

To contest the national election with party symbols, political parties must be registered with the Election Commission. At present, 60 political parties are registered with the EC.

Among them, the registration of the Awami League, whose political activities are currently banned, has been suspended, meaning the party is not eligible to participate in this election. Apart from that, eight other registered parties have not fielded any candidates either.

According to EC data, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has fielded candidates in the highest number of constituencies, contesting 288 seats. Jamaat-e-Islami is contesting 224 seats, while Islami Andolan Bangladesh has candidates in 253 seats. The Jatiya Party (JP) is contesting 192 seats, and the National Citizen Party (NCP) has candidates in 32 seats.

Among other parties, the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) has 65 candidates, the Socialist Party of Bangladesh (Basad) 39, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis 34, Khelafat Majlis 21, Gono Odhikar Parishad 90, Amar Bangladesh (AB) Party 30, Gano Forum 19, Ganosamhati Andolan 17, and Nagorik Oikya 11 candidates.

A day before the nomination submission deadline, the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), a partner of the former 14-party alliance, announced through a press release that it would not take part in the election. However, after the nomination deadline, the EC list showed seven JSD candidates.

At the time, the party claimed it had not nominated anyone. Following the withdrawal process, the EC’s final list shows six JSD candidates contesting the election. In addition, Bangladesh JSD has 11 candidates and JSD has 26 candidates in the race.