BNP assessing candidate list of allies

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party has already declared that they would form a national government including their partners in their simultaneous movement if they win the polls.

Now, ahead of the polls, the party has turned its focus on candidates from the allied parties.

The BNP has already got a list of 106 candidates from five parties and two alliances that took part in the simultaneous movements.

However, the left leaning Six-Party Alliance is yet to submit their list. They have already announced the names of potential candidates in 138 constituencies.

If the names of the 138 candidates announced by the Ganatantra Mancha are added, the number of seats sought by the allies of the simultaneous movement from the BNP stands at 244. Apart from these, there are a few other parties with whom the BNP is still negotiating seat arrangements, which are not included in this count.

Sources in both the BNP and Ganatantra Mancha said a meeting between the BNP and leaders of the Ganatantra Mancha will be held soon. The meeting is expected to discuss various issues related to the election, including possible seat negotiations.

This correspondent spoke to several BNP leaders involved in the process of nominating candidates from the allied parties and alliances. They said they want to finalise an integrated and balanced list of nominated candidates regardless of their political affiliations to ensure representation from every quarter of the society to gain voters’ trust.

Senior BNP leaders say the context of this election is different from previous ones. In the absence of the banned Awami League’s activities, a section of Islamist parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami, is shifting the political landscape. In such a scenario, ensuring victory for the candidates of allied parties in the simultaneous movement could become challenging. As a result, the BNP has to make extensive calculations when nominating allies’ candidates.

According to BNP sources, the two alliances in the simultaneous movement have submitted a list of 30 candidates to BNP against the Sheikh Hasina government. Of these, the 12-party alliance led by Kazi Zafar Mostafa Jamal Haider of the Jatiya Party has submitted a list of 21 candidates, while the Jatiyatabadi Samamana Jote led by National People’s Party (NPP) chairman Fariduzzaman Farhad has submitted a list of candidates in 9 constituencies.

In addition, Oli Ahmed’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has proposed candidates for 40 constituencies, Andaleeb Rahman Partha’s Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP) 5 seats, Subrata Chowdhury’s Gano Forum 15 seats, Mostafizur Rahman’s Bangladesh Labour Party 6 seats, and the Nationalist Democratic Movement (NDM) led by Bobby Hajjaj 10 seats.

Speaking regarding this, BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed told Prothom Alo, “All allied parties except the Ganatantra Mancha have given us their lists of candidates. We are now conducting area wise surveys to see who has the potential to secure victory in the polls.”

Around a year ago, the BNP lettered some local leaders under the headline – “highly significant”. The letter asked those leaders to cooperate with six leaders of the allied parties in the simultaneous movement in running campaigns and organisational activities in their respective areas.

A year on, the party has yet to formally confirm the nominations of the six leaders. However, it is understood that some have received informal signals of nomination from BNP’s top leadership.

The six leaders who were mentioned in those letters a year ago are: ASM Abdur Rob, president of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD); Mahmudur Rahman Manna, president of Nagorik Oikko; Zonayed Saki, chief coordinator of the Ganosamhati Andolon; Nurul Haque, president of the Gono Odhikar Parishad, and its general secretary Rashed Khan; and Syed Ehsanul Huda, chairman of the Bangladesh Jatiya Dal.

Of them, ASM Abdur Rob intends to contest from Lakshmipur-4 (Ramgati–Komolnagar), Mahmudur Rahman Manna from Bogura-4 (Shibganj), Zonayed Saki from Dhaka-12 or Brahmanbaria-6, Nurul Haque Nur from Patuakhali-3 (Galachipa–Doshmina), Rashed Khan from Jhenaidah-2 (Sadar and Harinakundu), and Ehsanul Huda from Kishoreganj-5 (Nikli–Bajitpur).

These letters sparked harsh reactions among the local nomination-aspirant BNP leaders. Nurul Haque was harassed at the hands of local BNP activists in his own electoral areas. Following such reactions, the BNP central office sent separate letters to each district with instructions to assist senior leaders of the aligned parties in organisational activities. It is still unclear whether Nurul Haque’s Gono Odhikar Parishad will remain with the BNP.

According to sources, Nurul Haque has grown frustrated after repeatedly facing harassment from BNP activists and supporters in his area repeatedly. Recently, he was assaulted by law enforcement and is currently under treatment. So far, the Gono Odhikar Parishad has not submitted any candidate list to the BNP.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, party general secretary Rashed Khan said, “We have worked in simultaneous movements with the BNP for a long time. There is also the issue of a national government. We have not given any list to the BNP yet. We will sit down soon, and the matter will be discussed then.”

However, discussions with senior BNP leaders indicate that the party has taken a decision in principle to provide support and cooperation to these six leaders in the upcoming election.

According to the BNP leaders at policymaking level, many top leaders of allied parties in simultaneous movement are under consideration for nomination in upcoming elections. For instance, the BNP is considering Nagorik Oikko president Mahmudur Rahman Manna to contest the poll from the Dhaka-18 constituency. Manna, however, wants to run for the polls from the Bogura-2 constituency.

Mahmudur Rahman Manna told Prothom Alo, “The central leaders feel comfortable contesting elections in Dhaka. But I don’t have the money required to run there. At the same time, there are also some complications in running for the polls from my own area.”

It is learned that BNP is considering Brahmanbaria-6 for Zonayed Saki, the chief coordinator of Ganosamhati Andolon, and Dhaka-17 for Andaleeb Rahman Partha, the chairman of BJP.

It is learned from multiple sources that LDP general secretary Redwan Ahmed could be given the nomination for Cumilla-7, the party’s presidium member and Oli Ahmed’s son Omar Faruk for Chattogram-14, Revolutionary Workers Party president Saiful Haque for Dhaka-8, LDP chairman Shahadat Hossain Selim for Lakshmipur-1, NDM chairman Bobby Hajjaj for Dhaka-13, Jatiya Party (Kazi Zafar) chairman Mostafa Jamal Haider for Pirojpur-1, general secretary Ahsan Habib Lincoln for Kushtia-2, and NPP chairman Fariduzzaman Farhad for Narail-2.

However, Andalib Rahman Partha is interested in contesting from the Bhola-1 constituency. BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas has already started campaigning, including putting up posters, for the Dhaka-8 constituency. This has created uncertainty over whether Saiful Haque could be given the nomination for Dhaka-8.

Several reliable BNP leaders said the election-centric polarisation is yet to start. As a result, it is not clear which party will ally with whom in the election, so more time is needed. In particular, it remains uncertain which way the National Citizen Party (NCP) and Maulana Mamunul Haque’s Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis will lean. BNP leaders are also considering how NCP would be accommodated if it joins and how its candidates’ victory could be ensured.

BNP leaders believe that Maulana Mamunul Haque’s Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis is not yet aligned with Jamaat. If it comes on board, BNP policymakers are considering including it in the alliance.

However, Maulana Mamunul Haque told Prothom Alo, “BNP has not put forward any proposal that we could discuss.”

Among the Islamic parties, BNP is getting support from Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam for the election. However, no formal talks on an electoral understanding have taken place between the two parties so far.

Jamiat’s executive committee will meet on 18 October, and after that, they are expected to discuss an electoral agreement with BNP, party secretary Maulana Manzurul Islam Afendi told this correspondent yesterday.

Speaking to BNP leaders at various levels, it has been learnt that so far they are considering three to four Jamiat leaders for nomination. These include the organisation’s ameer Maulana Ubaydullah Faruk (Sylhet-5), secretary general Manzurul Islam Afendi (Nilphamari-1), central leader Zonayed Al Habib (Brahmanbaria-2), and Monir Hossain Kasemi (Narayanganj-4).

Manzurul Islam Afendi said besides these four constituencies, there are several others, including Sylhet-4, where they have candidates with strong chances of winning. He said they have prepared a list of 150 candidates.

In the 2018 Eleventh National Parliament election, BNP had allocated 58 constituencies to its allies, including 22 seats for Jamaat-e-Islami. In this election, Jamaat is considered BNP’s main competitor. In this context, BNP is calculating seat allocations for the partners and aligned parties of its previous simultaneous movement.