The New Nation - Internet Edition

Rafiqul Islam Azad

The leaders of the four-party alliance are now facing pressure from grassroots leaders for taking a positive decision to take part in the ensuing local government elections scheduled to be held on August 4.

Many prospective candidates of the alliance particularly belonging to BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami are now spending busy time in meeting and lobbying with party hierarchy to get their blessings.

They go to the residences of senior party leaders and try to convince them for taking part in the polls.

Sources said the intending candidates of BNP and Jamaat have already started their mass contact programme to create public opinion in their favour.

The intending BNP and Jamaat candidates expect the the alliance finally would take the decision for taking part in the polls so that their opponents cannot go unchallenged.

Many of them took decision to fight the elections even their party does not take a positive decision in this regard.

Meanwhile, BNP Secretary General Khondoker Delwar Hossain yesterday said that the four-party alliance would take part in the ensuing local government elections if the government materialises their five-point demands including the release of alliance leader Begum Khaleda Zia, Motiur Rahman Nizami and sending Tarique and Koko abroad for treatment.

"If the Government fulfils our demands we would consider to take part in the elections," he said following a meeting of the alliance at the residence of Barrister Andalib Rahman, chairman of Bangladesh Jatiya Party, in the city.

Khondoker Delwar, who presided over the meeting, gave ultimatum to the government for meeting their demands by July 3.

He said they would take decision in this regard later since still there is time. Replying to a question he said if anyone goes for the polls without the decision of the alliance they would go with their own responsibility.

The BNP leader termed the polls as sharing power and effort to cling to power and said they would not go for elections to give legitimacy to the government's activities.

"There is no constitutional legitimacy of holding any elections by the Caretaker government before holding the Parliamentary polls," he challenged.

Khondoker Delwar, however, said that they would not belong to any leader who would be found guilty by the court.

The four-party meeting was attended, among others, by Dr RA Ghani, Tanveer Ahmed Siddiqui, Selima Rahman and Sarwari Rahman of BNP, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, Mohammad Kamaruzzaman and Abdul Kader Mollah of Jamaat, Abdul Latif Nezami, Maulana Ishaq and Mufti Wakkas of IOJ and Andalib Rahman and Shamim Al Mamun of BJP.