Ehsanul Haque Jasim :The BNP is now preparing for the upcoming Union Parishad (UP) polls under the banner of the 20-party alliance, sources said. The polls to around 600 UPs out of 4,500 will be held at the end of March in the first phase, while the elections to the other Union Parishads will be held in other phases till the end of July. BNP alleged that they faced debacle in the municipal polls due to ‘manipulation, irregularities and influence by the government and the ruling Awami League’. Although the party fears the same in the UP elections, the party will field candidates as part of its preparation for anti-government movement, said the party leaders.BNP joint-secretary general Mohammad Shahjahan, who was party’s signatory in the municipal polls’ candidates, on Wednesday told The New Nation that they will announce the irregularities of the municipal polls in detail through a press conference soon. “Although the government has the plan to manipulate the UP polls like the municipal elections, our party may join the UP polls as part of the movement,” he said. BNP high-command believes that although they faced debacle in the municipal polls, the party’s inactive leaders and workers of the grassroots level have been revamped centering the polls. The leaders and workers of the villages will also be more active if the party joins the UP polls. According to the sources, the BNP high-command is now very carefully planning their next strategy for the anti-government movement for early general election under a non-party government.
