BNP standing committee meets to finalise candidates for upcoming election

Candidates for nearly 200 seats may be announced in the first phase

BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman has called a meeting of the party’s National Standing Committee, where a large number of candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections may be finalised.

According to the party’s media cell, the meeting will be held at 12pm on Monday at the BNP Chairperson’s Office in Gulshan. A press conference is scheduled for 3pm following the meeting.

Several members of the standing committee said the discussions will focus on finalising candidates for the party and its alliance.

Standing committee members are expected to attend the meeting in person at the chairperson’s office, while Tarique will preside virtually from London.

Meanwhile, divisional organising secretaries have also been asked to be in attendance at the Gulshan office at 12pm.

As part of the initial membership renewal and new membership drive for BNP leaders and activists living abroad, the party launched an online payment gateway on its website on Sunday night.

Speaking at an event held at a hotel in Gulshan on this occasion, Tarique announced that the names of the party’s candidates would be released soon.

“We will soon announce the names of the candidates nominated by the BNP in different constituencies in stages,” he said.

“Everyone who believes in the nationalist force of Bangladesh must work together to support whoever the party nominates.”

Over the past two weeks, Tarique has been calling prospective candidates from different divisions to the chairperson’s office in Gulshan. He told them that everyone must work for whoever the party ultimately nominates after due consideration.

Several BNP leaders said the first phase of announcements may include candidates for a couple of hundred seats.

Salahuddin Ahmed, a member of the standing committee, recently said that the list of about 200 candidates would be released in early November.