& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

BNP desperate for polls after 2 months

AL may settle for 10 days' deferral; move on to strike a deal

Staff Correspondent
As the BNP is pressing hard to delay the general elections, the government talked with other political parties over the issue, and the AL, a key player to influence any such decision, has indicated that it may accept a deferral by only about 10 days.
The BNP-led four-party alliance wants to put back the election date by two-to-three months so that it can prepare itself for a better- than-now-perceived result, sources said.
On the other hand, Awami
League (AL), which feels itself in a better position to come to power, hinted it can afford a deferral by not more than 10 days, party sources told The Daily Star. It is agreeable to such a situation in the hope of having a fully participatory election.
The positions of the two major axes of the election fulcrum now puts the government in a sticky situation as it has yet to find an acceptable middle ground to bring both parties and their alliances to election.
FROM PAGE 1
It has been learnt that a government delegation has held meetings with the leaders of the BNR AL and Jatiya Party (IP) over deferral of the polls but failed to reach a consensus on shifting the parliamen^gjy^. election date.
However, neither the parties nor anyone from the government has acknowledged anything about the meetings.
Sources said the meeting between the delegation and BNP high-up was held Tuesday midnight and that the BNP leadership proposed shifting the election by at least three months.
But the delegation told BNP leaders that the government would consider shifting the election by 10 days at most only if the BNP agrees to take part in the poll without creating further difficulties.
According to the sources, BNP leadership did not agree with the proposal, saying the government has to announce the shift first and then they would decide on the matter.
Talking to The Daily Star, sources in different political parties said they have heard that the BNP chairperson told the delegation that it is quite impossible for them to make election preparations fully before January 15. So, the election
should be deferred to anytime after January 15, they added.
Sources said the AL leader who talked to the delegation over the matter said they want the election be held on December 18. But if all parties in the polls and the polls are held in December, they would not have any objection, sources said. In that case the upazila parishad elections would have to be deferred by a logical gap, they added.
The AL also said if any certain party does not agree to take part in the election in December then there is no logic or ground to shift the poll and in that case it must be held on the announced date.
Asked what would be the AL's position in case the election is deferred, AL spokesman Syed Ashraful Islam yesterday told The Daily Star that the nation would not accept deferral of election.
JP leaders also expressed similar views while talking separately with the government high-ups, sources said, adding that they told the government that deferral of the election should not be considered on grounds that a party is not taking part in it.
"A large party cannot be allowed to blackmail the country on illogical grounds," said a senior JP leader preferring not to be named.