As the party has got two coalitions-Jatiya Oikyafront and 20-party alliance, BNP is likely to face a serious hurdle over sharing parliamentary seats if it joins the next national election, fear party leaders and alliance partners.
They said BNP high-ups will have to deal with the issue very tactfully and effectively to avoid any split in the alliance and rebellion within the party
as it has more than one competent and dedicated candidates in most seats it will share with the alliance partners.
Talking to UNB, BNP senior leaders said they are ready to make a big sacrifice to keep their alliance partners happy over the seat sharing and hope their allies will be also judicious in this regard.
They, however, said their party will not talk about seat sharing with their partners until the announcement of the election schedule for strategic reason as the party is not yet decided to take part in the polls.
BNP’s 20-party alliance partners want BNP to settle the seat sharing issue as soon as possible so that they can take preparations for the election properly.
Oikyafront leaders are, however, now little bothered about seat sharing as they think ensuring a congenial atmosphere for credible polls is now their main concern.
A number of senior BNP leaders said they may give 20-party alliance partners maximum 50- 60 seats while Oikyafront leaders and professionals 30-40 seats.
Of the 20-praty partners, Jamaat wants 50-60 seats while LDP and Khelafat Majlish, 30, BJP 3, Jatiya Party (Zafar) 15, Kalyan Party 5, Jamiat-e-Ulema-Islam 6, NAP and NDP 4, Jagpa and NPP 4, Democratic League and Samyabadi Dal 4, Muslim League 2 and Labour party 2. Four other parties want nomination of their party’s top most leaders.
A BNP standing committee member, wishing anonymity, said they are now giving the main focus on various programmes of the Jatiya Oikyafront to push for their seven-point demand for holding a credible national election.
“If we now talk about seat sharing with our alliance partners it’ll demonstrate that we’re going to polls under any circumstances. But we’re still undecided about joining polls,” he said.
Contacted, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said it is not the suitable time for discussing about seat sharing with their partners as they are now on a movement to restore democracy, ensure a proper election atmosphere and release of their chairperson Khaleda Zia.
If their party decides to join the polls after realising their demands, he said they will then take an inclusive decision regarding the seat sharing thinking of the interests of all the alliance partners. “We’ll properly evaluate our alliance partners.”
BNP standing committee member and 20-party coordinator Nazrul Islam Khan said they neither make any list of their party’s probable candidates nor seek any such list from their alliance partners as their party’s participation in the polls is not certain.
“If we decide to join polls, we will be able to settle the issue with our partners after the announcement of the election schedule as we know which party has how many potential candidates,” he added.
Gono Forum executive president Subrata Chowdhury said they are not thinking of seat sharing issue as their now main target is to force the government to hold a fair and credible election. “We’ll talk about it at the right time.”
Nagorik Oikya convener Mahmudur Rahman Manna and JSD general secretary Abdul Malek Ratan also echoed Subrata Chowdhury, and said they will think about it once their demands are realised.
