Published : 04 Nov 2025, 03:58 AM
Updated : 21 Aug 2026, 02:40 PM
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party has held back 63 parliamentary seats, accommodating allies and signalling a broader seat-sharing drive ahead of the general election due in February.
Unveiling an initial slate of 237 candidates who will run under the party’s “sheaf of paddy” symbol, Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir read out the list at a briefing at the chairperson’s office in Gulshan on Monday.
The BNP said the roster is provisional and could shift following consultations with parties involved in the “simultaneous movement”.
In the 2018 election the BNP-led alliance reserved 22 seats for partners. This time the carve-out is markedly larger, underscoring the party’s need to knit together a broader coalition.
No timetable was given for finalising seat-sharing or publishing a definitive list.
He said, “We have not nominated candidates in seats where our partners in the simultaneous movement have shown interest. We expect them to announce their names, after which we will finalise the list.
“This is our provisional list. Changes may occur, especially after consultations with our allies in the movement on specific constituencies.”
In 2018, BNP had left the following seats for coalition partners:
At the time, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was imprisoned. With Gono Forum leader Kamal Hossain as the front face, the BNP participated in the polls under the Jatiya Oikya Front. That contested election saw the BNP win 5 seats and the Oikya Front 7 seats.
The BNP and aligned parties, including the Jamaat-e-Islami, boycotted the 2024 election. Ahead of that vote, the BNP dissolved its 20-party alliance and relaunched the simultaneous movement with its former allies.
Although the Awami League won a fourth consecutive term in 2024, a student-led mass uprising ended Sheikh Hasina’s uninterrupted 15-year rule on Aug 5.
Since then, Jamaat’s influence has grown in Bangladeshi politics, with widening differences with the BNP. Jamaat is now leading a separate movement with eight religion-based parties. The participation of old BNP allies in the next elections remains uncertain.
