More than 600 aspirants have collected nomination forms from the BNP for the reserved women’s seats in the 13th Parliament.
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi shared the information at a press briefing at the party’s Nayapaltan central office on Saturday morning.
He said over 500 forms were sold on the first day and the sale and submission of forms would continue until Sunday.
“Our nomination process has started. Interested candidates are collecting forms, filling them up and submitting them with the required documents,” Rizvi said.
Later in the day, BNP Assistant Office Secretary Tarikul Islam Tenzing said the number of forms sold crossed 600 as of Saturday noon, while around 78 to 79 forms were submitted so far.
Party leaders said a board formed with senior leaders will review the applications and finalise the candidates.
Rizvi said the party is following its usual democratic practices in selecting candidates.
“We expect the process to follow democratic norms, as BNP has always done in choosing its parliamentary candidates,” he said.
The BNP leader said expectations among the aspirations are high this time after a long struggle.
“This expectation is high because we have reached this stage after going through a very difficult situation for the last 16 to 17 years. We had to fight for a long time to ensure a free and fair election. After 15 to 16 years of struggle, we now have an environment to practise democratic norms, and we must make the best use of it,” Rizvi added.
Talking about the final selection of candidates, he said women have played a significant role in the party’s past movements.
“Many women faced repression. Some were arrested late at night for expressing their views on Facebook. Those active on the streets faced severe harassment, repression and false cases. They have endured continuous suffering,” the BNP leader said.
He expressed hope that those who have contributed to the party’s long movements and have the ability to speak in Parliament and maintain a good public image will be considered.
Rizvi also said the process would be completed quickly due to time constraints. “Time is short. We have to complete the party’s process quickly, as the final candidates will need to complete formalities with the Election Commission.”
On Saturday, teachers, lawyers, cultural figures and former student leaders alongside Mohila Dal leaders were seen collecting nomination forms from the Nayapaltan office.
Among them are singer Kanak Chapa, Bithika Binte Hossain, wife of late Swechchhasebak Dal president Shafiqul Bari Babu, and several former MPs.
The nomination form costs Tk 2,000, and candidates must deposit Tk 50,000 as security when submitting the form.
The Election Commission earlier announced the schedule for the reserved women’s seats election. The deadline for submission of nomination papers is April 21, while scrutiny will take place on April 22 and 23.
Appeals can be filed on April 26, and will be settled between April 27 and 28. Symbols will be allotted on April 30, and voting will be held on May 12.
According to the seat distribution, the BNP alliance is expected to get 36 seats, Jamaat-e-Islami alliance 13 seats, and independents one seat.