The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) started election related activities yesterday by selling nomination forms to potential candidates from its central office at Naya Paltan in the city.

Nearly eighteen hundred nomination papers were sold on the first day in a festive atmosphere.

Hundreds of willing candidates and their supporters crowded at the party central office to procure nomination forms. Most of the heavy weights of BNP have so far collected their nomination papers.

"But till yesterday none has collected nomination papers on behalf of Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and Secretary General Khandker Delwar Hossain," party sources said.

BNP Secretary General Khandker Delwar Hossain earlier announced that they were starting election activities on condition that government would make specific announcement to withdraw the emergency rule before the election.

The selling of nomination forms would continue today. Interview of the nomination seekers is scheduled to start the day after on 27 November.

Six booths have been opened at the central office of BNP for the six administrative divisions of the country.

Candidates intending to contest the forthcoming parliamentary elections have collected nomination papers and some of them also submitted it yesterday.

Most of the candidates are expecting to submit their nominations today, party sources said.

"Nomination forms for 263 Jatiya Sangsad seats were sold among the party contenders on Tuesday," Rizvi Ahmed, office secretary of the party told journalists at party's central office.

He said about 37 seats for parliamentary polls were allocated for components of the four-party alliance for the stalled January 22 election the last year.

BNP Secretary General Khandker Delwar Hossain told the journalists that candidates would get nominations from the party after evaluating their role before and after the changeover of 1/1.

Adequate numbers of policemen have been deployed in the surrounding area of the office.

Nomination papers were collected for Speaker Barrister Jamiruddin Sircar, M Saifur Rahman, former Finance Minister, Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Barrister Moudud Ahmed, former Law Minister, Brig Gen (Retd) ASM Hannan Shah, political adviser of party Chairperson, former army chief Lt Gen (Retd) Mahbubur Rahman, Chowdhury Tanveer Ahmed Siddiqui, RA Gani standing committee members, M Saiful Islam, former President of DCCI for Dhaka-17, Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, former state minister for power among others till yesterday.

The candidates will have to pay a sum of Tk 1,000 each for collecting nomination papers and Tk 20,000 as non-refundable deposit at the time of submission of the nomination papers along with an affidavit duly filled in.