As the 13th national parliamentary elections draw closer, senior leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have begun collecting nomination papers in several key constituencies, including seats traditionally associated with party chairperson Khaleda Zia and other top leaders.
In Bogura-7 (Gabatoli-Shajahanpur), BNP's Gabtoli upazila president Morshed Milton collected nomination papers on Saturday. The papers were submitted on his behalf by Upazila BNP senior vice-president Ashraf Hossain to Upazila Nirbahi Officer and Assistant Returning Officer Mohammad Hafizur Rahman.
Speaking to reporters, Milton said, "I was instructed by the party high command to collect nomination papers for the Bogura-7 constituency. In line with central directives, the papers have been collected and will be submitted according to party instructions."
Khaleda Zia represented the Bogura-7 seat from 1991 to 2008 but did not later take oath as an MP. The constituency was subsequently won by her adviser Helaluzzaman Talukder Lalu and later by Barrister Moudud Ahmed in a by-election. In the 2018 election, Milton's candidacy was cancelled due to a delay in resigning from his post as upazila chairman, resulting in the victory of BNP- and Jamaat-backed independent candidate Rezaul Karim Bablu.
In Dinajpur-3 (Sadar), BNP central leader and former mayor Syed Jahangir Alam collected nomination papers on Sunday from Additional District Magistrate Noor-e-Alam Siddiqui. His nomination was confirmed in a letter signed by BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
Earlier, Dinajpur district BNP general secretary Bakhtiar Ahmed had collected nomination papers on behalf of Khaleda Zia. After collecting the papers, Jahangir Alam told reporters, "The party high command instructed me to collect nomination papers for Dinajpur-3. We act strictly within the party's chain of command."
This will be the first time Khaleda Zia contests from Dinajpur-3. Previously, her elder sister, late Khurshed Jahan Haque 'Chocolate', won the seat in the seventh and eighth parliamentary elections.
Meanwhile, BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman has submitted his nomination papers for Dhaka-17. His personal secretary ABM Abdus Sattar collected the papers from the divisional commissioner's office in Segunbagicha.
Nomination papers were also earlier submitted on Tarique Rahman's behalf for Bogura-6.
BNP leader Andalib Rahman, who was elected as an MP from Bhola-1 in 2008, is set to contest again from the same constituency. Party leaders said his candidacy reflects coordination and unity between the party leadership and established political figures.
In Nilphamari-2 (Sadar), Engineer Shahrin Islam Chowdhury Tuhin, nephew of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, is expected to contest the election. A former MP from Nilphamari-1 and convener of the Engineers Association of Bangladesh (EAB), Tuhin exchanged greetings with journalists at the Fazlur Rahman Auditorium of the Nilphamari Press Club on Sunday.
"Media workers are our allies. We want to move Nilphamari forward, and for that we need the media as our partners. Any wrongdoing within the party will be dealt with firmly," he said.
District BNP member secretary AHM Saifullah Rubel, district joint convener Sohel Parvez, former district general secretary Zahurul Alam, and other senior party leaders were present at the event. Journalists, led by Acting Press Club president Atiyar Rahman, welcomed Engineer Tuhin with flowers.
The nomination activities underscore BNP's electoral strategy ahead of the polls, as the party seeks to ensure coordination among senior leaders while positioning key candidates in politically significant constituencies.
