From friction to accord; BNP's 'alliance' finds its footing

What began as a tense standoff over seat sharing between the BNP and its allies is now giving way to cautious optimism, as leaders are signalling that a breakthrough has been reached, paving the way for a united front ahead of the election after days of behind-the-scenes negotiations.

Talking to UNB, senior BNP and alliance leaders said negotiations over seat sharing have been concluded and a workable compromise has been reached.

They, however, said a major challenge now facing BNP is how to manage internal party resistance in constituencies that may be shared or given up for allies.

Though BNP has already finalised the seats it will share, the party has not officially disclosed how many seats it will leave for its partners.

A BNP Standing Committee member, wishing anonymity, said the final announcement on seat sharing with allied political parties will be made very soon as the process has already been finalised.

A key feature of the understanding, he said, is that some allied candidates may ultimately contest the election with BNP's electoral symbol, the sheaf of paddy.

Under the existing Election Commission rules, candidates from registered parties cannot contest polls under another party's symbol, even if they are part of an alliance.

To overcome this hurdle, the BNP leader said the party has adopted a new strategy. "Some selected candidates from allied parties will dissolve their parties or formally leave them and join BNP, enabling them to contest the election with the sheaf of paddy symbol."

He also said leaders of unregistered parties had already agreed earlier to contest the polls using the BNP symbol.

Such discussions have already reached an advanced stage, as Shahadat Hossain Selim, chairman of the Bangladesh Liberal Democratic Party (BLDP), dissolved his party and joined BNP on 8 December.

Later, on 22 December, Syed Ehsanul Huda, chairman of Bangladesh Jatiya Dal, also joined BNP after dissolving his party.

Talking to UNB, Mustafa Jamal Haider of Jatiya Party (Zafar) and Fariduzzaman Farhad of the National People's Party (NPP) said their discussions with BNP have been productive and they would contest the election with the sheaf of paddy symbol.

On contesting under the BNP symbol, Bobby Hajjaj of the National Democratic Movement (NDM), who has been given a signal to contest from the Dhaka-14 seat, said political realities sometimes require strategic decisions. "If I take any such step, it will be taken purely as part of political strategy.

However, a BNP source said several leaders, including Mahmudur Rahman Manna, Saiful Haque, Andaleeve Rahman Partho, Zonayed Saki and Nurul Haque Nur, are not willing to resign from their parties to contest the election with the BNP symbol, as they want to run with their own party symbols.

The same source said Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Chairman Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed's son, Professor Omar Farooq, and the party's Secretary General Redowan Ahmed will also contest the polls with their own party symbol. BNP is expected to leave those two seats for them.

Talking to UNB, Saiful Haque said his party's discussion with BNP over seat sharing ended with a promise of leaving the Dhaka-12 seat for him.

"If BNP finally offers Dhaka-12, we will take a positive decision," he said, adding that there is a mixed reaction within his party over seat sharing with BNP, as they expect BNP to offer more seats.

Haque, however, said he will contest the polls with his party's symbol spade.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh has emerged as an important party for BNP in seat-sharing negotiations which will also contest the election with its own 'Date Palm Tree' symbol.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday said the party will share four parliamentary seats with its alliance partner Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh for the upcoming 13th national parliamentary election.

"Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh will contest the upcoming election with BNP on the basis of an understanding. BNP has left Nilphamari-1, Narayanganj-4, Brahmanbaria-2 and Sylhet-5 constituencies for Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh, where the party will contest the election with the 'Date Palm Tree' symbol," Fakhrul said.

The Jamiat candidates are Maulana Md Manjurul Islam Afendi in Nilphamari-1, Mufti Monir Hossain Kasemi in Narayanganj-4, Maulana Md Ubaidullah Faruq in Sylhet-5 and Maulana Junayed Al Habib in Brahmanbaria-2.

Contacted, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the party has already held discussions with its allies over seat sharing.

"We hope the matter will be resolved within the next couple of days and announced formally," he said.

"Our understanding with alliance partners has been completed, and our bond with them has become even stronger," Fakhrul added.

Asked how many seats will be shared with alliance partners, he said the party will disclose the details in due course. "You will have to wait a little longer. Nothing can be said at this moment."

According to the Election Commission schedule, the 13th parliamentary election and referendum will be held on 12 February, while the deadline for submitting nomination papers is 29 December.

BNP has already announced party candidates for 272 seats in two phases ahead of the 13th national parliamentary election.

Of the remaining 28 seats, four have now been allocated to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh as part of the alliance arrangement.

Earlier, BNP confirmed former Bangladesh LDP chairman Shahadat Hossain Selim as its candidate in Laxmipur-1.

A BNP leader said the party earlier announced candidates in some seats that are now to be shared with alliance partners.

"It is now awkward for these candidates to step aside, as they have already been campaigning with the party symbol. In some other constituencies, the party may face strong rival candidates if those seats are shared with alliance partners," he added.