The presidential election will be held on time and candidates for the post will be nominated according to the party’s decision, LGRD Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said on Monday.

He made the remarks while responding to journalists' questions after inaugurating the divisional office of the Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB) in the Terminal area of Rangpur city.

Mirza Fakhrul said the BNP is a democratic political party.

“Through a long struggle, our party formed the government with a two-thirds majority in parliament with the love and votes of the people,” he said.

He said the BNP had fulfilled the responsibility of running the government not once, but five times. “Those who call BNP a fascist either lack knowledge or have developed such a mentality,” he added.

The minister also urged the Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer to read his party’s constitution carefully and assess how democratic the party is.

Regarding local government elections, he said the Election Commission would decide on the issue of educational qualifications for candidates. “If not by the end of this year, the local government elections will be held early next year,” he said.

Mirza Fakhrul also said the government has waived interest on agricultural loans up to Tk 10,000 to support agricultural development.

He added that the Prime Minister announced maximum allocation for agricultural development in the Rangpur region and that all necessary steps would be taken to make agriculture profitable.

Later, Mirza Fakhrul inaugurated a rural fair organised at the Rangpur Public Library grounds, visited different stalls and attended a community meeting at the Shilpakala Academy.

Rangpur Development Authority Chairman Shamsuzzaman Samu, Divisional Commissioner Shahidul Islam (NDC), Rangpur Range DIG Aminul Islam, Rangpur Deputy Commissioner Ruhul Amin, Rangpur Zilla Parishad Administrator Saiful Islam, government officials and employees, and BNP leaders and activists were present.