Interviews for BNP nomination seekers for reserved women's seats begin

Bangla Press Desk: A total of 68 individuals have submitted nomination forms for the 23rd reserved seat for women in the National Parliament, allocated to the BNP. The party has announced that its Parliamentary Board will meet today, Monday, to decide on the nominations.
The meeting will be chaired by the party’s Chairman and Prime Minister, Tarique Rahman.
According to reliable sources within the BNP, four candidates are currently the primary contenders: Sabina Khan, daughter of the late Kamar Uddin (former president of the UK branch of the BNP); Syeda Abida Hossain, daughter of the late Syed Mokbul Hossain (a former BNP leader from the Sylhet-6 constituency); Syeda Sabrina Siddiqui, wife of Dhaka Metropolitan BNP leader Syed Abu Bakar Siddique Saju; and Syeda Asifa Ashrafi Papia, the party’s Human Rights Affairs Secretary.
On September 24, an attack, involving vandalism and looting, took place at the Radda MCH-FP Center (a maternal and child healthcare facility) in Mirpur.
Following the incident, allegations were raised against Ferdousi Ahmed Mishti, the Member of Parliament for the 23rd reserved seat for women (representing Mirpur). Subsequently, acting on the instructions of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, she resigned on October 1. The seat was declared vacant that same day.
Prior to this, on Friday, the prospective BNP candidates purchased their nomination forms from the party’s central office in Naya Paltan and submitted them the following day, Saturday.
A BNP leader told *Kaler Kantho* that the decision regarding the nominations would be made during the Parliamentary Board meeting, in accordance with the party’s constitution. This is the established procedure for selecting candidates for both general parliamentary elections and reserved seats for women, and this instance will be no exception.
The BNP formed the government after being elected by the country’s voters in the 13th National Parliamentary Election.
Based on the proportion of their elected members, the BNP was allocated 36 of the 50 seats reserved for women in the National Parliament.
BP/TD