Even after a series of meetings, BNP has yet to reach an agreement with its partners in the four-party alliance on seat sharing for the December 29 parliamentary polls.
Though the deadline for submitting nominations ends tomorrow, leaders of its allies did not know as of last night which seats they are going to contest for.
“We are worried as we didn’t yet get any response from the BNP leadership,” Abdul Latif Nezami, secretary general of Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ), told The Daily Star yesterday evening.
BNP, which started issuing nomination letters to those already on the party ticket Thursday night, has already completed interviewing its candidates for 263 constituencies.
Though its allies have sought 88 seats, it has left only 37 seats for them.
Party insiders said Jamaat wanted 60 seats, and IOJ and Bangladesh Jatiya Party 14 each.
They added that BNP plans 35 seats for Jamaat, three to four for IOJ and at best two for BJP.
Jamaat, the second largest component in the four-party coalition, had been given 35 seats also for the stalled election of January 22 last year.
According to insiders, BJP Chairman Andaleeve Rahman Partho had been keen stand from Bhola-1 and -4, but BNP has already nominated its former lawmaker Nazimuddin Alam for Bhola-4.
Asked about the matter, BJP chairman told The Daily Star yesterday, “I don’t know what’s happening. I’ll discuss the matter with BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia tonight [last night].”
Jamaat has already held several meetings with BNP to settle the issue. On Thursday night, its Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid and Assistant Secretary General Muhammad Kamaruzzaman met Khaleda Zia and other top BNP leaders. They handed the former prime minister a list of their leaders aspiring to be the alliance candidates.
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