Salahuddin urges BNP leaders to prepare for next polls

BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed today called on party leaders and activists to begin preparations for the upcoming general election.

"Election schedule will be announced in December... So, go to the doorsteps of voters, reach out to them and seek votes for the BNP," he told the biennial conference and council of Chakaria Upazila BNP in Cox's Bazar.

Referring to the Proportional Representation (PR) system, Salahuddin said, "The language of democracy is that people will vote for whoever they prefer. But under PR, they vote for a symbol, without knowing who will become an MP." He added that those advocating for the PR system have ulterior motives.

The BNP leader said people have shed blood over the past 16 years to secure their democratic and constitutional rights, which can only be realised through the exercise of voting rights.

He stressed that democratic practices must continue so that "no fascist like Sheikh Hasina emerges again," accusing her government of "burying democracy and snatching away people's right to vote through midnight elections."

The council was chaired by Convener of Chakaria Upazila BNP Council Management Committee Enamul Haque and moderated by Member Secretary M. Mubarak Ali.

District BNP President and former MP Shahjahan Chowdhury inaugurated the council, while former MP Advocate Hasina Ahmed, BNP Chattogram Divisional Assistant Organising Secretary Mir Helal Uddin, Chattogram South District BNP former Convener Abu Sufian, and Cox's Bazar District BNP General Secretary Advocate Shamim Ara Swapna also addressed the event.