No BNP leader has chosen to challenge Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman for the party’s top two positions in the election scheduled for March 19 during the BNP’s sixth national council.
As the deadline for collecting nomination paper expired yesterday, only Khaleda and Tarique collected forms for the posts of chairperson and senior vice-chairman.
“Representatives of Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman collected the nomination forms. We were waiting to know if anyone else would collect nomination paper, but no one did. But it does not mean that they became elected uncontested. For this, we will have to wait until March 6,” said Nazrul Islam Khan, the returning officer of the council election.
“Party Chairperson Khaleda Zia has appointed Ruhul Kabir Rizvi as her election agent for competing in the chairperson post. Rizvi collected the nomination paper,” Nazrul, also the party’s standing committee member, told journalists yesterday.
BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi collected the nomination form from the party’s Nayapaltan headquarters on behalf of Khaleda, while BNP Joint Secretary Mohammad Shahjahan collected the nomination paper for Tarique.
Khaleda Zia has been the party chairperson since 1984, while Tarique Rahman was appointed the party’s senior vice-chairman after the post was created in the 2009 council.
The one-page nomination paper, which comes free of cost, asks for a proposer and a supporter – both members of the BNP council – to vouch for the hopeful candidate. It also requires the candidates’ monthly membership fee to be up to date.
Rustom Ali, who is in charge of fee collection, said: “Madam Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman sir have paid the annual fees. The monthly fee of standing committee members is Tk1,000.”
The BNP will hold its national council on March 19 where election would be held for party chairperson and senior vice-chairman posts.
As per election schedule, nomination paper scrutiny will take place on March 5 and nomination paper could be withdrawn on March 6.
According to the BNP charter, the party chairperson will be elected through the direct vote of councillors in the national council, while the party, on February 10, decided to also hold election for the party’s senior vice-chairman post at the council.
