Upazila polls: BNP offers conditional clemency to expelled leaders

If the expelled BNP leaders hold a press conference and formally announce their withdrawal from the upazila election, their expulsion order will be withdrawn, the party’s Senior Joint General Secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has said. “There is still an opportunity. Those who withdraw from the election will get clemency,” he said during the distribution of water and saline among the people in Dhaka on Saturday (April 27). He urged the leaders of the party to boycott the polls. “Don’t go to the election in favour of the government due to a little greed or pressure. The people of the country did not go to the elections under this government and will not do so in the future. So, boycott the election for the sake of the country and for people’s rights,” he said. Blaming the government for the scorching heatwaves sweeping across the country, Rizvi said the government has put people’s lives in crisis by clearing forests, filling rivers and canals, and setting up thermal- and coal-based power plants for unplanned urbanisation. Earlier on April 26, in a media statement, the BNP said it expelled 75 of its leaders who went against the party’s decision and opted to participate in the first phase of the Upazila polls. The party formally announced the boycott of the Upazila polls on April 15. In the first phase, 152 upazila parishads will go to polls on May 8, while voting will take place at 161 upazila parishads in the second phase on May 21. The third phase polls will be held on May 29 and fourth phase on June 5. On March 23, the Election Commission announced the schedule for the first phase of polls. But elections to two upazilas were later postponed. Meanwhile, 1,891 nomination papers, including 696 for the post of chairman in 150 upazila parishads, were submitted. Among them, 724 candidates are contesting for the post of vice chairman, while 471 are vying for the post of female vice-chairman, EC sources said. This time, 26 candidates are set to win uncontested.
Published on: 2024-04-27 14:28:58.320604 +0200 CEST