BNP Pushes Allies to Finalize Seat-Sharing Ahead of National Polls

With the next parliamentary election approaching, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is seeking to swiftly finalize seat-sharing deals with its allied parties. To that end, BNP has asked its partners in the joint anti-government movement to submit lists of their nomination aspirants.

Party sources said the issue was discussed at a BNP standing committee meeting held on Tuesday night. Senior BNP policymakers stressed the need to settle nominations with allies quickly so that confusion is avoided and candidates can begin campaign work in their constituencies.

Some alliance leaders have already been informally asked to submit names, according to insiders. Mustafa Jamal Haider, head of the 12-Party Alliance, confirmed to Prothom Alo on Wednesday:

“BNP has reached out to us. We’ll sit down in a few days to discuss nominations.”

Mahmudur Rahman Manna, president of Nagorik Oikya and a leader of the Ganatantra Mancha platform, said:

“First we must decide on our election strategy and who our opponents will be. Only then should we settle on candidates.”

Informal Green Signals

BNP insiders, speaking anonymously, said some top figures from allied parties — including Shahadat Hossain Selim of Bangladesh LDP — have already received positive signals from BNP regarding nominations.

Ganatantra Mancha leaders have also been asked to prepare candidate lists, with BNP standing committee members directly making phone calls to coordinate.

Jonaid Saki, chief coordinator of Ganosamhati Andolon, told Prothom Alo:

“As movement partners, we will hold discussions on strategy and seat-sharing. We’ll also address internal disagreements over implementing reforms.”

Coordination Channels

According to BNP sources, liaison responsibilities have been distributed as follows:

• Left and Ganatantra Mancha parties: Ameer Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku

• Islamist and other allies: Nazrul Islam Khan, Abdul Awal Mintoo, and Barkatullah Bulu

Row Over Secretary General’s Interview

The standing committee meeting, chaired virtually by acting BNP chief Tarique Rahman, also discussed current political challenges, election plans, and candidate selection.

A point of debate was a recent interview published in the Kolkata-based daily Ei Samay, attributed to BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. Fakhrul, who joined the meeting virtually from the US, denied making the statements quoted, saying they were misrepresented.

Party leaders instructed him to clear up the confusion. Later that night, BNP’s central office issued a statement dismissing the interview as “entirely false and fabricated.”

A separate press note from BNP’s media wing said the interview had been deliberately twisted with the intention of damaging the image of both the party and its secretary general.

BNP’s joint office secretary Taiful Islam also released a statement Tuesday night, clarifying that Fakhrul had not given any interview to foreign media recently. He alleged the fabricated report was aimed at creating suspicion among the public.