UNB, Dhaka :
Buoyed by the party’s successes in the recently-held Comilla City Corporation polls, BNP has started strengthening its organisational activities to rejuvenate its rank and file and prepare for the next city polls and parliamentary ones.
Party senior leaders said since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Awami League leaders have ‘initiated campaigns’ for the next general election, BNP has worked out a plan to take preparation simultaneously for the election and a movement to force the government to hold polls under a neutral administration.
As part of the plan, they said they will complete party overhauling process and other groundwork, including incorporating reformists in the party, placing party’s Vision-2030 and supportive-government formula and formation of Dhaka south and north city unit committees, by May next to start a strong polls campaign from mid-June.
The next general election is to be held in January 2019, while that to Rajshahi, Sylhet, Khulna, Barisal and Gazipur city corporations early next year.
A leader close to the BNP chairperson said party senior leaders and pro-BNP intellectuals are persuading Khaleda Zia to take to the streets and hold rallies in different districts to start election campaign and revamp the party at the grassroots.
He, however, said, Khaleda is unlikely to hold any street rally anytime soon as she is facing some health complications. “The BNP chief may
hit the streets in mid-June. By the time, she has a plan to go to the UK for treatment.”
The BNP leader said she has already directed party top leaders to start taking all-out preparations, including collecting information of possible MP candidates and giving training to party leaders and activists to prepare them for working as polling agents and facing obstacles at the polling stations with tactics, for the next city and parliamentary polls.
At a recent programme, Khaleda asked her party leaders and activists to get ready for the next general election. “Being happy over Comilla city Mayor Monirul Haque Sakku’s victory is not enough. Instead, we need to prepare our party so that we can overcome the election hurdles through a strong fight.”
Contacted, BNP Secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said they will surely join the next election, but it has to be held in a credible and neutral manner.
“We’ve already started completing groundwork for the election. Our party’s research unit is working to work out plans and strategies for it with the suggestions of the experts of relevant fields.”
Fakhrul said their election manifesto is also being prepared in light of ‘Vision-2030’ which Khaleda will soon place before the nation.
He said, they are holding councils of their different units, overhauling the party, forming new committees of their associate bodies alongside revitalising, rank and file across the country through senior leader’s visit.
Asked when Khaleda will take to the streets, he said after the formation of the new committees of the Dhaka city unit and other major units she will start her campaign. “Our party overhauling process will be completed soon.”
BNP standing committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has launched her election campaign using state facilities, but the government is not allowing them even to hold a public rally.
“We’re not sitting idle as we’re working out different strategies to overcome the current problems and prepare the party for election.
Buoyed by the party’s successes in the recently-held Comilla City Corporation polls, BNP has started strengthening its organisational activities to rejuvenate its rank and file and prepare for the next city polls and parliamentary ones.
Party senior leaders said since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Awami League leaders have ‘initiated campaigns’ for the next general election, BNP has worked out a plan to take preparation simultaneously for the election and a movement to force the government to hold polls under a neutral administration.
As part of the plan, they said they will complete party overhauling process and other groundwork, including incorporating reformists in the party, placing party’s Vision-2030 and supportive-government formula and formation of Dhaka south and north city unit committees, by May next to start a strong polls campaign from mid-June.
The next general election is to be held in January 2019, while that to Rajshahi, Sylhet, Khulna, Barisal and Gazipur city corporations early next year.
A leader close to the BNP chairperson said party senior leaders and pro-BNP intellectuals are persuading Khaleda Zia to take to the streets and hold rallies in different districts to start election campaign and revamp the party at the grassroots.
He, however, said, Khaleda is unlikely to hold any street rally anytime soon as she is facing some health complications. “The BNP chief may
hit the streets in mid-June. By the time, she has a plan to go to the UK for treatment.”
The BNP leader said she has already directed party top leaders to start taking all-out preparations, including collecting information of possible MP candidates and giving training to party leaders and activists to prepare them for working as polling agents and facing obstacles at the polling stations with tactics, for the next city and parliamentary polls.
At a recent programme, Khaleda asked her party leaders and activists to get ready for the next general election. “Being happy over Comilla city Mayor Monirul Haque Sakku’s victory is not enough. Instead, we need to prepare our party so that we can overcome the election hurdles through a strong fight.”
Contacted, BNP Secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said they will surely join the next election, but it has to be held in a credible and neutral manner.
“We’ve already started completing groundwork for the election. Our party’s research unit is working to work out plans and strategies for it with the suggestions of the experts of relevant fields.”
Fakhrul said their election manifesto is also being prepared in light of ‘Vision-2030’ which Khaleda will soon place before the nation.
He said, they are holding councils of their different units, overhauling the party, forming new committees of their associate bodies alongside revitalising, rank and file across the country through senior leader’s visit.
Asked when Khaleda will take to the streets, he said after the formation of the new committees of the Dhaka city unit and other major units she will start her campaign. “Our party overhauling process will be completed soon.”
BNP standing committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has launched her election campaign using state facilities, but the government is not allowing them even to hold a public rally.
“We’re not sitting idle as we’re working out different strategies to overcome the current problems and prepare the party for election.
