Trinamool BNP leaders said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had given them assurance of ensuring a fair and level playing field in the upcoming parliamentary election.
A delegation of Trinamool BNP leaders went to Ganabhaban on Sunday night to meet with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
After meeting for more than two hours, the delegation came out at around 10pm.
The Trinamool BNP leaders expressed that the upcoming elections will be held in a neutral and participatory environment under this government. They will field candidates in 300 seats, where they are confident of winning around 10 seats, with fair competition.
This meeting with the prime minister is in view of the upcoming elections, said the leaders.
It is known from the leaders who participated in the meeting that they are confident about the election environment after talking to Sheikh Hasina.
They said: “we are happy and feel that this election will not turn into a looting election like the previous two elections. And the selection situation will be favourable for all parties, where a level playing field will be ensured.”
The leaders said: "The prime minister herself has assured us. And even if we don't come to power, we will remain the main opposition party."
A leader of this delegation said: "We are not only participating in the election. We hope to secure some respectable seats. After the meeting with the prime minister, we are now confident that we will obtain at least 3 seats from among our eligible experienced candidates."
Trinamool BNP's Secretary-General, Taimur Alam Khandaker, told the Dhaka Tribune: "Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had a meeting with us. She wants a fair election, and she will ensure it. There will be a level playing field, with all political parties enjoying a fair and participatory election environment. The Prime Minister herself has confirmed this to us, and I think we can fully trust her."
"The prime minister called us for a meeting; she assured us of a fair election. I can confidently say that we will secure an honourable seat based on her words. We have a significant number of strong candidates. However, we have nothing to say about the seats before the election," he added.
Another Trinamool leader said: "We expressed interest in dialogue from the beginning, but we could not have expected that the prime minister would call us suddenly. We were informed that we would be called to the meeting. Two days ago, we suddenly received an invitation to the meeting, but the exact time was not confirmed. With tight security, we reached Ganabhaban through a three-step transportation process. Earlier, all the leaders who participated in the meeting underwent Covid testing. In the final step, we disembarked from our car and reached Ganabhaban in a government-flagged car from midway. We attended the meeting and had a long discussion with Sheikh Hasina."
He said: "We provided a report to her, and she accepted it with appreciation. She applauded our team."
However, this leader did not answer, referring to the report they handed over to Sheikh Hasina as a confidential matter of the party.
Including Trinamool BNP's Chairperson Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury, Secretary-General Taimur Alam Khandakar, and co-chairman, more than 10 leaders are known to have participated in this meeting, but they did not confirm the exact number.
Taimur Alam said: "We do not want to talk about this right now. As it is confidential, we do not want to share the details of the meeting and what we discussed with Sheikh Hasina."
Trinamool BNP has announced its participation in the 12th National Parliamentary Election.
The party has already begun selling nomination forms to its candidates for the election. It is said that the sale of nomination forms from the party will continue until Saturday. They mentioned that notable women leaders from their party will participate in the election.
Sources say that Trinamool BNP aims to increase the participation of female candidates in parliament and will encourage women interested in participating in the 12th National Parliamentary Election from their party.
