BNP leaves seats for Manna, Saki, Noor

Bangla Press Desk:  Mahmudur Rahman Manna, Jonayed Saki, Nurul Haque Nur, and Bobby Hajjaj are among the 10 politicians for whom BNP has left seats vacant ahead of the February general elections.

No regular BNP member would contest the seats, and if any partyman violates the order the person would face disciplinary actions, said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at a press conference on Wednesday.

The press conference was held at the party Chairperson’s Gulshan office.

Among the selected 10 politicians with different backgrounds, Bobby Hajjaj has formally joined BNP and would contest from the Dhaka-13 constituency. Furthermore, National People’s Party (NPP) Chairman Fariduzzaman Farhad would also contest with BNP’s “paddy sheaf” symbol from the Narail-2 constituency, as NPP has so far failed to secure Election Commission’s registration.

The other eight politicians would contest with their respective party symbols, Fakhrul said at the press conference.

Under the arrangement, Nagorik Oikya President Mahmudur Rahman Manna will contest from Bogura-2, Jatiya Party (Kazi Zafar) leader Mostafa Jamal Haider from Pirojpur-1, and National People’s Party (NPP) Chairman Fariduzzaman Farhad from Narail-2. Islami Oikya Jote leader Mufti Rashid Bin Wakkas will contest from Jashore-5, while Gono Odhikar Parishad President Nurul Haque Nur will contest from Patuakhali-3 and the party’s General Secretary Rashed Khan from Jhenaidah-4. Bangladesh Revolutionary Workers Party General Secretary Saiful Haque will contest from Dhaka-12, and Ganosanghati Andolon Chief Coordinator Zonayed Saki from Brahmanbaria-6.

The BNP has so far announced its candidates for 272 of the 300 parliamentary seats in two phases. Of the remaining 28 seats, four were allocated to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh on Tuesday. After the seat sharing, the decision on 16 seats are yet to be finalised.

BP/SP