BNP to sell nomination forms for Thakurgaon-1 by-election Sept 15

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has decided to sell nomination forms to pick its candidate for the Thakurgaon-1 by-election.

Party Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced the decision late Saturday following a meeting of the National Standing Committee at the party chairman's Gulshan office.

He said the constituency fell vacant after former secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir assumed the office of president, with the by-election scheduled for Oct 29.

Aspirants can collect nomination forms from the party's Naya Paltan central office on Sept 15 and submit them on Sept 16, Rizvi said.

The party's parliamentary board will interview aspirants at the Gulshan office on Sept 18 before picking the final nominee.

BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman presided over the meeting starting around 7pm, joined by senior leaders Gayeswar Chandra Roy, Abdul Moyeen Khan, Nazrul Islam Khan, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Selima Rahman, AZM Zahid Hossain, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Aman Ullah Aman, Ismail Zabihullah, and Farhad Halim.

Rizvi said the meeting discussed the government's ongoing three-month dengue prevention drive, adding that the Standing Committee thanked Tarique for his call to launch a nationwide cleanliness campaign.

The party decided to distribute awareness leaflets across the country, drafted under the guidance of top medical experts, alongside broadcasting public awareness programmes on television and radio.

Rizvi noted that the party will also work to install waste bins at schools, colleges, madrasas, and local markets to ensure proper garbage disposal.

He added that vacant posts across party committees resulting from deaths or expulsions will be filled in line with the party constitution.