BD Correspondent: The Bangladesh Nationalist Party has handed over its certificates of nominations to 800 candidates for 240 of the 300 seats for 11th parliamentary elections scheduled for December 30.Party leaders said that they adopted the tactic to nominate more than one candidate for each seats in order to boost the confidence and morale of the party leaders and activists who ‘survived different kinds of persecution in the past 10 years by the present government and to avert vacancy in any constituency for cancellation of nominations in scrutiny.

They said that the party was still in trouble with seat sharing with the allies in its two alliances — the Jatiya Oikya Front and the BNP-led alliance — and the issue might be resolved before the December 9 deadline for the withdrawal of candidature as the deadline for submission of nomination papers would expire today.

The party continued facing huge pressure from the electoral allies for sharing many seats as the front already decided to use BNP’s electoral symbol sheaf of paddy in the polls.

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday said that the party was giving certificates of nomination to more than one aspirant for most of the seats so that if any nominated candidate failed to contest for any reason the other could remain in the race.

Talking to journalists at BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office on the second day of handing over nomination certificates on Tuesday, Fakhrul said that nomination certificates issued by him were given to about 800 candidates of the party.

He said that BNP would share maximum 60 of the 300 seats with its allies in the two alliances.

Fakhrul said that nomination certificates were also given to the parties in the BNP-led alliance and they would use BNP’s sheaf of paddy in the polls.
Fakhrul, also the Jatiya Oikya Front spokesperson, said that the parties in the front were giving nominations to their party candidates and the issue of seat sharing with them would be settled after the scrutiny of the nomination papers by the returning officers.

Leaders of BNP-led alliance who took nomination certificates from BNP included Andaleev Rahman Partha of Bangladesh Jatiya Party for Bhola 1, Fariduzzaman Farhad of NPP  for Narail 2,  Sayeed Ahmed of Samyabadi Dal for Narayanganj 5,  Syed Mohammad Ibrahim of Kalyan Party for Chottagram 5, Liberal Democratic Party’s Oli Ahmed of for Chottagram 14,  Redwan Ahmed for Comilla 7 and Shahdat Hossain Selim for Lakshmipur 1, Jamiote Ulamae Islami’s Shahinur Pasha for Sunamganj 3 and Mohammad Wakkas for Jashore 5, Mustafizur Rahman Iran of Labour Party for Pirojpur 2, Mostafa Zamal Haider and TIM Fazle Rabbi of Jatiya Party (Kazi Zafar) for Pirojpur 1 and Gaibandha 3 respectively, BNP leaders said.

They said that the party might share 40 seats for the parties in the BNP-led alliance, including about 22 for the Jamaat-e-Islami.

BNP primarily nominated many former lawmakers and a number of new faces, including leaders of its front and associate organisations, singers, players, family members of BNP leaders and the leaders known as reformists for their role during the military-backed interim regime.

Singers Baby Naznin, Kanakchapa and Monir Khan, former national football team captain Aminul Hoque, Juba Dal president Saiful Alam Nirob and Chhatra Dal president Razib Ahsan were among those who got the nomination certificates.

The nominations were also given to eleven reformist leaders, including Abu Hena for Rajshahi 4 Alamgir Kabir for Naogaon 6, Sardar Sakhawat Hossain Bakul for Narsingdi 4, Ataur Rahman Angur for Narayenganj 5, Nazir Hossain for Sunamganj 2,  Ziaul Hoque Molla for Bogura 4, GM Siraz for Bogura 5 and Mofiqul Hasan Tripti for Jashore 1.

BNP leaders’ Family members who got nominations included late finance minister Saifur Rahman’s son M Naser Rahman, Jamiruddin Sircar’s son Naushad Zamir, late Tariqul Islam’s son Aninda Islam Amit, late Khandaker Delwar Hossain’s son Akhter Hamid Dablu, late ASM Hannan Shah’s son Shah Riazul Hannan, late Harunar Rashid Khan Monnu’s daughter Afroza Khan Rita, late deputy speaker Akhter Hamid Siddique’s son Pervez Hamid Siddique and late Fazlur Rahman Patal’s wife Kamrunnahar Shirin.

Nomination certificates were also given Mirza Abbas for Dhaka 8, his wife Afroza Abbas for Dhaka 9, Ataur Rahman Dhali and Abdus Salam for Dhaka 13, Sarafat Ali Sapu for Munshiganj 1, Abdus Salam Azad for Munshiganj 2, Kazi Abul Bashar and Sadeque Hossain’s son Ishrak Hossain for Dhaka 6, Nabiullah Nabi for Dhaka 5, Fahima Hussain Jublee and Khandaker Abu Asfaq for Dhaka 1 and Ahsanullah Sarker for Dhaka 16.

The handing over of nomination certificates continued till filling of this report at 9:00pm.