BNP cedes eight more constituencies to partner parties ahead of national elections

The party has reached consensus with seven parties that joined the “concurrent movement”

BNP has extended its electoral concessions to allied parties ahead of the parliamentary polls, ceding eight more constituencies as part of a broader consensus with seven parties that have joined the ongoing “concurrent movement”.

Announcing the decision at a press conference on Wednesday at the party chairperson’s Gulshan office, Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the allocation follows extensive discussions with partner parties to reach mutually acceptable decisions.

The constituencies ceded under this arrangement will be contested by the following party leaders under their respective party symbols:

Bogura-2: Mahmudur Rahman Manna, president of Nagorik Oikya

Pirojpur-1: Mostafa Jamal Haidar, Jatiya Party (Kazi Zafar)

Narail-2: Fariduzzaman Farhad, chairman of the National People’s Party

Jashore-5: Rashid Bin Wakkas, Islami Oikya Jote

Patuakhali-3: Nurul Haque Nur, president of Gono Odhikar Parishad

Jhenaidah-4: Rashed Khan, general secretary of Gono Odhikar Parishad

Dhaka-12: Saiful Haque, general secretary of the Bangladesh Revolutionary Workers Party

Brahmanbaria-6: Zonayed Saki, chief coordinator of Ganosamhati Andolon

Fakhrul said the discussions will continue, and decisions that follow will be announced accordingly.

Additionally, Cumilla-7 will go to LDP’s Redwan Ahmed, and Dhaka-13 to National Democratic Movement Chairman Bobby Hajjaj. While Redwan has already joined the BNP, Bobby is expected to follow soon.

Those joining the BNP will contest under the Paddy Sheaf symbol, while allied partners will use their own symbols.

Earlier, the BNP had agreed to four seats for Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh, bringing the total number of seats allocated to partners to 12.

Previously, the BNP had declared candidates for 272 constituencies in two phases; with the inclusion of Redwan and Bobby’s seats, the total rose to 274, leaving 14 constituencies yet to be finalised.