Rieta Rahman merges her party with BNP after securing nomination

Rieta Rahman has announced a merger of her party with the BNP within a year after inception, and hours after securing the ticket to stand in Rangpur-3 by-polls with the paddy sheaf symbol.

“It was first proposed in January. Today it has been announced. Now we have merged with the BNP,” she told bdnews24.com on Sunday night. 

“BNP's and our politics is the same. There is no benefit in having small parties. We believe the bigger party will get stronger if we get together,” she explained.

The BNP has welcomed Rieta’s decision. “The joining of People’s Party leaders and activists headed by Rieta Rahman will strengthen the BNP,” Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said in a statement. 

Rieta’s father Mashiur Rahman Jadu Mia was a leader of the National Awami Party and a minister of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman’s cabinet.

She fought the elections on Dec 30 last year from the same seat and with the same symbol, but as a candidate of the BNP-led coalition.

She lost the election to the Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad, after whose death on July 14 the seat fell vacant.

Rieta’s brother Shafiqul Ghani Swapan represented the seat in parliament from Jatiya Party in the 1986 polls.

Swapan’s son Jebel Rahman Ghani is chairman of NAP Bangladesh, which had left the BNP-led 20-Party Alliance around a year ago before the last general election.

His aunt Rieta later formed the PPB and joined the alliance.