Amid growing dissatisfaction among alliance partners over BNP’s unilateral announcement of candidates without any discussion, the party has decided to finalise seat sharing soon with its partners ahead of the 13th national election.

Talking to UNB, some senior BNP leaders indicated that the party is likely to start formal talks with its partners in the anti-fascism simultaneous movement from Wednesday (December 10) to settle the seat-sharing issue.

They said BNP has decided to leave seats mainly for those alliance candidates who have a strong chance of winning, considering rival contestants and the amended Representation of the People Order (RPO), which now prohibits using the electoral symbol of another party.

“Simply leaving seats for allies is not enough — we must also ensure their victory. For this reason, senior alliance leaders who may not have a strong position in the voting field will be given important roles in the state structure, including the proposed upper house of parliament, if BNP forms the next government,” said a BNP Standing Committee member, requesting anonymity.

He said the Standing Committee at its meeting on Monday night discussed the issue of seat-sharing at length and chalked out a strategy to reach an understanding with like-minded parties by assuring them of proper evaluation if BNP is voted to power.

The BNP leader said the meeting decided to begin talks with the partners from Wednesday, as frustration has grown among some alliance leaders for not engaging in discussions over the matter.

Earlier, BNP announced a total of 272 primary candidates out of 300 --237 in the first phase on November 3 and 36 more on December 4.

Only 28 seats now remain vacant, which BNP says, have been kept mainly for alliance partners.

Several partners in the simultaneous movement, however, have expressed anger and surprise, claiming BNP announced nominees in 272 seats without any consultation, even though the allies already submitted lists of their preferred constituencies.

In at least six constituencies-- Kushtia-2, Moulvibazar-2, Narail-2, Kishoreganj-5, Jhalakathi-1 and Jashore-5 --candidates from different alliance parties were expecting nomination, but BNP fielded its own leaders.

Another BNP Standing Committee member said the meeting also discussed the need to maintain good relations with alliance partners by allocating a reasonable number of seats.

He said the party may review nominations in a few constituencies where allies have strong expectations. “BNP wants to keep the unity of the anti-fascism alliance intact through a fair and logical seat-sharing deal.”

The BNP leader said Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir will lead a negotiation committee to sit with alliance partners to remove misunderstandings and finalise seat sharing issue.

As part of the move, he said BNP is likely to sit with the 12-party alliance on Wednesday, while talks with Ganatantra Mancha, the Jatiyatabadi Samomona Jote and other like-minded parties will take place soon.

The BNP leader admitted that the amended RPO is a major challenge in seat-sharing, since each registered party must now contest using its own symbol. Previously, alliance partners could contest using another party’s symbol within the alliance.

In this situation, he said, BNP believes the electoral symbol is now a very important factor. “We think it will be very difficult to make voters familiar with the symbols of other alliance parties in the election field.”

He also said BNP leaders and activists can easily and spontaneously campaign for the ‘Sheaf of Paddy’, but it may not be possible to do the same for other symbols. “Even then, for the sake of unity, we have taken a policy decision to allocate seats for those alliance leaders who are well-known, have strong grassroots support, and have a real chance of winning.”

He said BNP already has a good understanding with the LDP and a few Islamist parties on seat-sharing. “Victory in each seat is the top priority. Those who can win will get seats, and the others will be honoured in different ways.”

The meeting also decided to launch extensive election campaign programmes highlighting BNP’s major pledges, including sector-wise promises on farmers’ cards, family cards, healthcare, employment, education and sports.

The BNP leader said the party aims to reach every voter through leaflets, advertisements, professional network engagements and mass campaigns once the election schedule is announced, as BNP believes the country will fully enter the election process through the announcement of the schedule.

Contacted, BNP Standing Committee member Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku said they will soon sit with alliance partners to reach an understanding over seat-sharing issue.

He, however, said it is not possible to satisfy every partner by giving them seats, as winning the election must remain the priority. “So, we consider sharing seats only with those who have the potential to win.”

Tuku said BNP has finalised its candidates after careful assessment of many factors. “We have still kept 28 seats vacant and many of those will be shared with our alliance partners. Everyone needs to be patient.”