For the past two and a half years of the Awami League administration. the BNP strategy has been the same when it comes to elections. For the 20th time, the party seems to have repeated its performance.

As records show, BNP frequently changed its position and adopted a convenient strategy regarding all the 20 by-elections. field so far. to the present Parliament.

By-elections were held to 15 seats vacated by those elected in more than one constituency In the June 1996 general elections. The rest five by-polls took place following deaths of MPs.

In the first phase of 15 byelections. BNP lost to the Awami League three seats, two vacated by its chief Khaleda Zia in Chittagong and Laxmipur • and another by M. Saifur Rahman in Sylhet.

Loss of the Khaleda-held seats first prompted BNP to declare that it would not contest any by-election under the present CEC, Mohammad Abu Hena. The party also laid siege to the Election Commission and took to the streets demanding resignation of the CEC. in a series of protests against Abu Hena since BNP lost in the 1996 general elections.

Accordingly. BNP boycotted two consecutive by-elections in Habiganj and Thakurgaon. both fell vacant due to deaths of AL MPs. The ruling party retained both the seats.

The opposition party was hesitant to contest the by-poll to the Manikganj-3 seat, fallen vacant due to a BNP lawmaker's death. But the party did not miss the chance to retain the Manikganj seat, its traditional

stronghold.

Before the Mainkganj bypoll. Khaleda Zia and other top BNP leaders had announced not to be party to any further election with AL in power and threatened to oust the government if that by-poll was rigged. However, BNP kept mum after retaining the Manikganj seat.

Then came the Barisal-5 constituency, another seat vacated by the death Of a BNP lawmaker. Again, the party feared rigging and reiterated that the government would be toppled if the election was rigged.

On the day of the Barisal byelection. Khaleda Zia told a public meeting at Feni that the

ruling party was busy rigging after capturing polling centres while the process of election was still on. But the Opposition leader later learnt that her candidate had won before she left Feni.

After winning the two consecutive by-polls, BNP was never heard talking of CEC’s resignation.

Tne story is even stronger, if not the same, in case of Pabna-2 constituency. BNP took the same old strategy. It predicted rigging by the AL and renewed threats to launch all-out agitation till the fall of the government.

Should BNP lose the by-election. Khaleda Zia had announced at a rally in Dhaka a week before the Pabna vote, her party would announce a 48-

hour hartal instantly and then go for a non-stop hartal until the government quit.

BNP had taken contradictory positions even on the day of the Pabna polling.

At noon, the party lodged a written complaint with the EC headquarters saying there were unfair practices at 1 1 centres in four unions and stuck to the allegation until evening.

BNP secretary general Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan told newsmen at the party office at 6 pm that they received allegations of rigging in 10 centres while Moudud Ahmed, another influential leader of the party, told waiting reporters at tne EC at 9 pm that vote-rigging, bomb

blasts and clashes took place in 23 centres.

Mannan Bhuiyan in his 7:00 pm news briefing claimed the AL workers ousted BNP agents from most of the centres.

As results were coming in from Pabna. BNP did not reject the by-polls until 8:00 pm and did not take any clear-cut position on the results when Mannan Bhuiyan told reporters that they were awaiting the results. At around the same time, a senior BNP leader phoned Mannan Bhuiyan from Pabna to confirm BNP's defeat. Only then. Bhuiyan asked the party leaders, collecting results at the EC. to reject the results, party sources said.

At around 9 pm. Moudud Ahmed and others left the EC after meeting the CEC and later

joined the BNP press conference at the party central office where th- rejection of the In poll was lornially announced •

On the contrary. BNP candidate in the by-poll Selim Reza Habib complained to the CEC at around 5:00 pm that his party workers in 11 centres were obstructed. implying that he had no objections about the rest.

Just before the CEC flew back to Dhaka, he had received a BNP complaint that rigging took place in 1 1 centres and demands for re-polling in those places.

At the 9.15 pm press conference. the BNP secretary general called the Pabna by-poll a "farce" and alleged unprecedented rigging and terrorism during the election. He. also called a dawn-to-dusk hartal across the country on Sunday protesting the "farcical" bypolls. By then, the EC announced the results of 26 out of 81 centres, when AL was maintaining a lead by 5816 votes.

Yesterday, a meeting of the BNP-led Seven-Party called the Election Commission a ' trusted associate" of the ruling party and the government. Only two days before the vote, the BNP secretary general had praised the CEC after he had fired the returning officer, which followed a BNP demand.

A UNB report said yesterday that a high-level BNP meeting wes pondering an impeachment move against the CEC.

In her post-election press statement last night. Khaleda Zia called upon the people to observe Sunday’s hartal. But she did not mention anything about her previous announcement for a non-stop hartal.