Bangladesh is going to polls on Dec 30, 2018 to elect the members of parliament.
Paddy sheaf symbol for 298 candidates, 242 of them from BNP
Altogether 298 candidates from the BNP and its allies are contesting in the election with its paddy sheaf logo.
Published : 9 Dec 2018, 05:40 PM
Updated : 9 Dec 2018, 06:38 PM
The candidates with paddy sheaf include 242 from the BNP, according to a list the party sent to the Election Commission on Sunday, the deadline for withdrawal of nomination.
The BNP has left 17 seats for the candidates with paddy sheaf from its other allies than the Jamaat in the 20-Party coalition.
These include five for the Liberal Democratic Party, two for the Khelafat Majlish, three for the Jamiayte Ulamaye Islam, two for the Jatiya Party (Kazi Zafar), and one each for the Bangladesh Jatiya Party, the Kalyan Party, the National People’s Party, the Labour Party, and the People’s Party of Bangladesh.
The BNP, which sits out of parliament after boycotting the 2014 elections, is joining the election this time after recently forming another alliance – the Jatiya Oikya Front.
Among the 19 Oikya Front candidates with the paddy sheaf logo, seven are from the Gono Forum, and four each from the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-JSD, the Nagorik Oikya, and the Krishak Sramik Janata League.
Among the BNP’s allies, 21 of the Jamaat-e-Islami candidates will use the BNP’s name and the paddy sheaf logo as it lost registration with the EC.
The Jamaat candidate for Cox’s Bazar-2, Hamidur Rahman Azad, however, will compete independently with a different symbol, but with the BNP and other allies’ support.
Another from its ally Liberal Democratic Party will compete with its umbrella symbol.
The BNP finalised the list on Saturday and Sunday amid violent protest by supporters of the axed nominees.
This is the first time the BNP is going to election with its Chairperson Khaleda Zia in jail for corruption.
Sentenced to more than two years in jail, Khaleda is constitutionally barred from running for parliament.
The EC on Saturday dismissed her appeals against rejection of her nominations.
On Sunday, she challenged the decision in the High Court.
The High Court recently ruled that convicts with more than two years of prison sentence cannot contest in elections even if their appeals remain pending.
Khaleda’s son Tarique Rahman, who is running the party as its acting chief in exile from London, has also been convicted of corruption.
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