The high command of the BNP has started gathering opinions from its party leaders from different levels regarding the forthcoming local government elections, including those for upazilas, sources familiar with the development said.
The party’s local government experts have already submitted a written charter of recommendations to BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman, who is now in exile in the UK.
It comes as the Election Commission (EC) mulls elections for women reserved seats in the 12th National Parliament in February and the Upazila Parishads in March.
On Monday, the EC announced that it will conduct the Mymensingh and Comilla city polls on March 9, when the elections and by-polls for some municipalities, unions, and zilla parishads will also be held.
What’s on the BNP's mind?
Some top BNP leaders said that they were discussing whether or not they would contest the local government polls under the Awami League government.
Several discussants think they should participate in the polls as it would boost the party’s grassroots leadership and capacity.
However, some others are against the next elections since they think those would slow down the party’s “one-point movement” of toppling the government. They suspect that the allies of the BNP in the movement may react heavily if the party joins the polls fray.
Fear of losing ‘grip’
BNP Vice-Chairman Advocate Zainul Abedin told Bangla Tribune that they were yet to discuss the next elections.
He said: “I’m not even sure if any proposals were sent to the acting party chief.”
Sources said that some central leaders of the BNP, especially those close to Tarique, are against joining the elections.
The leaders in question, the sources said, are doing so because “they do not want to risk losing their control over the party’s high command and in their localities.”
They have always been blocking the possibility of new leadership within the party, the sources added.
Another spell of boycott?
The BNP and 15 registered political parties boycotted the 12th general election held on January 7. Before that, the main opposition on the streets did not contest last year’s city elections, despite having some heavyweight BNP candidates citing “strategic grounds”.
The leaders loyal to Tarique played a massive role in making the decision, sources said.
The BNP has not just stopped boycotting the elections since last year. Since then, it has expelled a number of leaders and activists for either joining the electoral race or campaigning on behalf of other candidates.
Adverse outcomes
Nazrul Islam Monju was the BNP’s mayoral aspirant in the 2018 Khulna City Corporation polls. He never joined any further elections after that.
Monirul Haque Sakku, a two-time mayor of Comilla City Corporation, was expelled from the BNP for contesting the city polls in June 2022.
Awami League-backed candidate Arfanul Haque Rifat won that mayoral race with 50,310 votes, beating Sakku by a margin of only 343 votes. It means Sakku was very close to sealing his third straight polls victory.
During last year’s Sylhet city polls, BNP’s Ariful Haque Chowdhury, boycotted the election, saying: "I’ve withdrawn from this farcical election as a loyal worker of the party, following the advice of party acting chairman Tarique Rahman and agreeing with the party's decision."
An old practice
Joining such elections was also on the agenda in a virtual meeting between Tarique and the party’s local government representatives on January 22 last year. Some of them then focused on the impacts of and strategies for local government elections.
Shairul Kabir Khan, a member of the BNP's media cell, said the party’s candidates were in an upazila election held in several phases in February 2014.
“Our candidates also contested some of the upazila elections in early 2019,” he said.
“Following the decision of the party’s standing committee a day earlier, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said on February 28, 2021 said the party would not take part in the Union Parishad elections,” Shairul recalled.
A member of the committee, who is also on good terms with Tarique, said: “The BNP does not recognize the existing EC. So, there is no point in contesting the elections with the party’s backing.”
But he went on to say: “Since the upcoming ones are local government elections, many will be interested in contesting those.
“We can just discourage them, not obstruct. Perhaps they will not be expelled,” the BNP leader said, adding that many may contest without the party’s symbol.
“But it is highly likely that the Awami League and members of law enforcement agencies will not let BNP candidates win,” he feared.
‘Only time will say’
Meanwhile, the ruling Awami League decided not to use the party symbol in the upcoming Upazila Parishad elections.
The BNP says the Awami League took the decision keeping in mind the potential participation of its archrival in the polls.
BNP Chairperson's adviser and former opposition chief whip Zainul Abdin Farroque said the Awami League will hold another “dummy election” like that of January 7.
“We boycotted the general election under the Awami League government as the EC worked for it,” he said, alleging that complaints to the commission bring no outcomes.
Stating that the BNP is still rigid with its old stance (boycotting polls under the Awami League government), Farroque said: “Only time will reveal it if we make any temporary changes to the decision.”
