BNP yesterday nominated former lawmaker GM Siraj by allocating its electoral symbol — sheaf of paddy — to him to contest the by-election to the Bogra 6 constituency.
Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir handed over an official letter to Siraj at the BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office in Dhaka confirming his nomination, said the BNP chief’s media wing member Shairul Kabir Khan.
The party ticket has been handed to BNP's Bogra district unit Convener Siraj a day before the returning officer is set to allocate the symbols to the candidates.
The Bogra 6 seat was declared vacant on April 30 after Fakhrul stayed away from taking oath, despite being elected as the MP in the 11th general election, held on December 30 last year.
The Election Commission on May 8 announced a new schedule for the by-polls to the constituency, fixing June 24 as the day of the ballot.
As per the schedule, the deadline for nomination paper submission was May 23, the nomination papers were scrutinized on May 27, and the last date to withdraw candidature is June 3.
The eight-hour balloting period will begin at 9am instead of 8am in the by-election. Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be used in all the polling stations of the constituency.
During the army-backed caretaker government in 2007, former Bogra 5 lawmaker Siraj had gained reputation as a reformist leader of the party.
Siraj is also the owner of SR Travels, which operates in the country’s northern region, Food Village restaurant and Shahnaz Filling Station.
The BNP leader was elected MP from Bogra 5 in 1991, 1996 and 2001 general elections.
The party had nominated him from that seat again in the last polls, but he was defeated by Awami League candidate Md Habibar Rahman.
