BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir came up with the announcement after a meeting of the party’s nomination board at its chairperson’s Gulshan office.

Six BNP leaders collected their party’s nomination forms to contest the upcoming elections to Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) as a mayoral candidate of ‘Sheaf of Paddy’.

The five other nomination seekers are Chattogram City unit BNP general secretary Abu Hashem Bakkar, vice president Syed Azamuddin, ex-joint secretary Ershad Uallah, ex-councillor Niaz Muhammad Khan and Mohila Dal leader Lusi khan.

Election to Chattogram City Corporation and by-elections to Bogura-1 and Jashore-6 seats will be held on March 29.

As per the schedule announced by the Election Commission, the deadline for the submission of nomination papers is February 27 while the scrutiny of nomination papers is on March 1 and the last date for the withdrawal of candidacy is March 8.

Awami League on Saturday picked Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, joint general secretary of Chattogram city unit of the party, to contest the CCC mayoral election.

The last elections to the CCC were held on April 28, 2015.

Besides, Fakhrul said, their nomination board finalised AKM Ahsanul Toyab Jakir as the party candidate for the by-polls to Bogura-1 seat and Abul Hossain Azad to by-election to Jashore-6 constituency.

The Bogura-1 and Jashore-6 seats fell vacant following the deaths of AL MPs Abdul Mannan and Ismat Ara Sadique.

The three BNP candidates said they are taking part in the CCC election and by-polls as part of their party’s movement to free Khaleda Zia.

They demanded the Election Commission to deploy army for ensuring fair and credible balloting.

Fakhrul said party policymakers decided also to join the upcoming election to Union Parishads across the country.