BNP’s mid-ranking leaders on Wednesday urged the party policymakers to wage a movement to force the government to hold the next polls under a neutral government.

In a closed-door meeting, they also told the party top leaders that it will be pointless for BNP to join the next national election if it is held under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a party joint secretary general, who was present at the meeting, told UNB.

He said some leaders wanted to know from the party high command about what BNP gained by joining Jatiya Oilkyafront under the leadership of Dr Kamal Hossain and the talks with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ahead of the last general election.

The BNP leader said they also urged the party top leaders to work out a strategy for the next polls taking lessons from the mistakes the party made during the last two national elections.

The BNP top leaders sat in the marathon meeting with the BNP joint secretaries general, secretaries general, organising secretaries, assistant organising secretaries and secretaries around 4pm at BNP chairperson's Gulshan office. The meeting continued for around seven and a half hours.

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Party sources said 122 leaders participated in the meeting and gave their opinions about how BNP should get ready for an anti-government movement and the next general election.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir along with standing committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Nazrul Islam Khan, Selima Rahman and Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku was present at the meeting. Party acting chairman Tarique Rahman virtually joined it from London.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Mirza Fakhrul said they sat with the party’s mid-level leaders after the senior ones as part of their planned series of meetings with BNP rank and file to know their views about the party’s next course of action.

“The meeting discussed the current political situation in the country and the organisational situation of the party,” he said.

Fakhrul said they will also hold a meeting with the leaders of different associate bodies on Thursday. “We may hold similar meetings with other leaders and the party in the days to come and it will be finalized at our standing committee’s next meeting.”

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The BNP leader said their party will also hold dialogues with different organizations over the political issues.

Earlier on Tuesday, the BNP policymakers had a closed-door meeting with the party’s vice-chairmen and advisory council members.

BNP formed a 502-member national executive committee, including 35 vice-chairmen, through its sixth national council on March 19, 2016.