Tarique Rahman on video call as BNP finalises candidates

The BNP Parliamentary Board has begun finalising candidates for the upcoming national parliamentary election through interviews of nominees in the Rangpur Division.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 18 Nov 2018, 06:30 AM
Updated : 18 Nov 2018, 08:05 AM

BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman is participating in the interviews from London over videoconference, some nominees said after completing their interviews.

A nominee from Dinajpur said that Rahman was active during the interview, asking various questions and requesting information about the party’s strength in the nominees’ constituencies.

The nominees for the Rangpur Division began their interviews at the BNP Chairperson’s Office in Dhaka’s Gulshan on Sunday morning. Interviews for Rajshahi Division candidates will begin this afternoon.

BNP Standing Committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Moudud Ahmed, Jamiruddin Sircar, Mahbubur Rahman, Rafiqul Islam Mia, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Abdul Moeen Khan, Nazrul Islam Khan, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir are on the board. Standing Committee chair Mirza Abbas was absent.

Tarique has served as the party’s acting chairman since his mother, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, was sentenced to jail over a graft case in February.

Tarique who has been living in London for a decade was sentenced to 17 years in prison over two graft cases. He has also received a life sentence over the Aug 21 grenade attack.

According to the BNP offices, 250 nominees are vying to become candidates for the 33 parliamentary seats in Rangpur Division including the Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Rangpur, Kurigram and Gaibandha districts.

Nominees for the Panchagarh-1 seat were called first. Three nominees are vying for the BNP ticket – Yunus Sheikh, barrister Naushad Jamir and Touhidul Islam.

Jamiruddin Sircar was elected to the seat in 2001 and later became the Speaker of the House. He is now on the parliamentary board. His son Naushad Jamir will face an interview for the BNP candidacy.

The panel will have an hour-long break after it completes interviewing the Rangpur nominees, before resuming interviews with the Rajshahi nominees at 2:30pm.

Joypurhat, Bagura, Chapainawabganj, Naogaon, Rajshahi, Natore, Sirajganj and Pabna are part of the division. Over 300 nominees are competing for the BNP ticket at 39 parliamentary seats in the division.

According to the announced schedule, interviews for the Barishal and Khulna divisions are on Monday, Chattogram, Cumilla and Sylhet are on Tuesday and Mymensingh, Faridpur and Dhaka are on Wednesday.

Police have placed barricades in front of the BNP’s Gulshan offices in preparation for these interviews. Nominees have been asked to bring the receipts for the submission of their forms. Though the nominees have been told to come without their supporters, many were seen to bring 10-12 companions to the offices.