Bangladesh News

BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain yesterday said the four-party alliance will contest and win the upcoming polls and the BNP-led alliance would be expanded, if necessary.

“Our four-party alliance prevails and would take part in the upcoming election; inshallah, we’ll win the polls,” he told reporters after an Iftar party held at Lalmatia New Colony field.

Delwar said they are not concerned about the fresh initiative of reconstituting the Awami League (AL)-led 14-party grand alliance and the efforts to expand it further.

“The Awami League-led grand alliance is nothing new; it existed in the past but did not take part in the elections,” Delwar said.

Asked whether the four-party alliance would be expanded further to counter the grand alliance’s latest move, he said, “We’ll expand the alliance, if need be.”

The Iftar party was organised by the Mohammadpur unit BNP and attended by standing committee members Tanbir Ahmed Siddiky and Khandaker Mahbubuddin Ahmad, Vice-president MK Anwar, Office Secretary Rizvy Ahmed, among others.

Pointing at MK Anwar’s Tuesday’s comment on getting registered with the Election Commission, Delwar said everyone in the party should not talk (on party decisions).

“It’s the party secretary general who will convey party’s position on different matters; besides, there is the party chairperson to that end,” Delwar added.

Asked whether BNP would get registered with EC under the new electoral laws, he said they (four-party alliance) will take the decision after discussing it in the party forum and with other components of the alliance.

Ahead of the stalled ninth parliamentary election scheduled for January 22 last year, the AL-led 14-party formed a grand alliance bringing in Jatiya Party (Ershad), LDP and BDB.

But the grand alliance became ineffective with the declaration of the state of emergency on January 11 last year.

Emerging from a meeting with Khaleda Zia on September 18 at Shafik Rehman’s Eskaton residence, Salauddin Quader Chowdhury told reporters efforts are on to expand the alliance.

“Our party leaders discussed the issue today,” he said.