Bangladesh News

BNP and its key ally Jamaat-e-Islami are still maintaining deep secrecy over sharing of seats for the forthcoming parliamentary polls, party sources said.

Avoiding yesterday’s formal meeting of the BNP-led four-party alliance, BNP held separate meetings with its allies at different places in an attempt to reach a consensus over the issue of seat sharing.

In a late-night development, Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ) Chairman Mufti Fazlul Haque Amini said BNP agreed to give them three seats in Brahmanbaria-2, Jessore-5 and Sunamganj-3 after they demanded 13 seats.

He said his party would contest the polls with BNP’s electoral symbol, a sheaf of paddy.

IOJ Secretary General Abdul Latif Nezami entered the BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office in the capital at about 1:35am today for talks over seat sharing.

Meanwhile, BNP late last night agreed to leave Dinajpur-3 seat for Jatiya Gonotantrik Party President Shafiul Alam Pradhan.

A meeting between BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and top Jamaat leaders was going on at her Gulshan office as of 1:40am today.

BNP Office Secretary Rizvi Ahmed told journalists last night that the list of candidates of the four-party alliance will be finalised on December 11, the last date for withdrawal of nomination.

“We had a series of meetings with a high-profile BNP delegation consisting of former BNP lawmaker Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and former energy adviser Mahmudur Rahman at our central office,” a Jamaat leader told The Daily Star last night on condition of anonymity.

Talking about the outcome of the talks, the Jamaat leader said, more discussions would be held to settle the issue.

“We demanded 60 seats from BNP but did not get any positive response from them,” the Jamaat leader said.

However, BNP insiders said their partner parties, including Jamaat, will get maximum 40 seats but the decision would be finalised through further discussion.

When asked about the seat sharing issue, Shamim Al Mamun, secretary general of Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP), told The Daily Star that they met Khaleda Zia last night for talks and were waiting for her decision.

Sources said BNP offered the party only Bhola-1 seat for its chairman Andaleev Rahman Partho. BJP, however, is trying to get two more seats from Thakurgaon and Jessore.