Published : 03 Sep 2026, 05:35 PM
Updated : 16 Sep 2026, 11:47 AM
The Election Commission has yet to announce the Union Parishad election schedule, but the race is already gathering pace in Rajshahi, where multiple BNP leaders are vying for chairman posts across the district.
Without waiting for specific instructions from the central leadership, would-be candidates have begun campaigning at the grassroots level.
Although the elections will not be contested under party symbols this time, competition among BNP hopefuls has emerged in almost every union. District leaders are now seeking to build a consensus around a single candidate in each race to avoid splitting the party’s support.
Rajshahi district has 72 union councils: eight in Paba Upazila, nine in Godagari, seven in Tanore, six in Mohanpur, 16 in Bagmara, seven in Durgapur, six in Puthia, six in Charghat and seven in Bagha.
Conversations with BNP leaders suggest that three or four party figures are interested in contesting for chairman in many unions. In some cases, the number rises to five or six.
That has left the BNP facing a significant organisational challenge: settling on a single candidate in each union without allowing the competition to spill over into internal conflict.
In Ganipur Union of Bagmara Upazila alone, at least six BNP leaders and supporters are interested in contesting for chairman.
They include union BNP General Secretary Murtuza Mridha Bakul; BNP leaders Zakirul Islam Zakir and Enamul Haque; former district BNP member Habibun Nabi Dewan Shakil; and Faisal Rana, joint convener of the district Zia Moncho.
Moniruzzaman Ranjhu, a three-time chairman of the union and joint convener of the upazila BNP, is instead campaigning for the Upazila Parishad chairman’s post.
The competition is also crowded in Bagmara’s Goalkandi Union.
Among those seeking to contest are union BNP President Zahurul Islam Khokon, General Secretary Akramul Islam, Acting Chairman Bakul Sardar and former Jubo Dal leader Abdul Latif Mukul.
Local BNP leaders say the aspirants have been conducting their own grassroots campaigns in the absence of specific organisational directives from the party.
“As the upazila leadership is divided into two factions, complications could arise in selecting a single candidate unless there is coordination,” said Zahurul.
BNP Chairperson’s Advisor and Land Minister Mizanur Rahman Minu said the large number of aspirants was natural for a party of the BNP’s size.
“As BNP is a large party, it is natural to have multiple candidates. However, in accordance with the chairman’s instructions, a single candidate will be finalised through coordination and discussions at the local level,” he said.
Jamaat-e-Islami, meanwhile, appears to have moved ahead of its rival in settling on candidates.
The party has already finalised its candidates and begun campaigning, according to its local leadership.
“Our candidates for the posts of city corporation mayor, municipality and Union Parishad chairman have already been finalised and announced,” said Imaz Uddin Mondal, secretary of Rajshahi city Jamaat.
“We are working in the field with a single candidate in each race.”
Local BNP leaders are also discussing the possibility that Awami League figures associated with the previous government could contest as independents, adding another dimension to the electoral contest.
The Election Commission has yet to set a date for the polls.
After meeting President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Aug 27, Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin said the local government election schedule could be announced in September.
If examinations at educational institutions are completed in time, the commission will consider beginning voting towards the end of November. Otherwise, the elections could begin in December.
