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BNP may offer '60 seats to allies'

May go on to leave 20 more to avoid seat-sharing row, say insiders

Mohammad Al-Masum Molla
The BNP may offer 60 parliamentary seats to its partners in the Jatiya Oikyafront and the 20-party alliance, setting aside the rest for its leaders who have been collecting party nomination papers since Monday.
Party policymakers discussed the seat-sharing issue in the last two days. They would soon sit with the partners in the alliances to settle it, BNP insiders said.
If needed, the party may offer 20 more seats to the partners to avoid any conflict, they said.
Leaders from the Jamaat-e-Islami, a key component of the BNP-led 20-party alliance, may be offered maximum 20 seats. As the party currently has no registration with the Election Commission, its leaders might contest as independent candidates under the banner of the alliance. They, however, would have no common electoral symbol, the insiders said.
Jamaat has already informed the BNP its decision to field independent candidates.
Among other partners of the 20-party, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) may be offered five seats while Bangladesh Jatiya Party two. Six other registered parties of the combine may be offered one seat each, alliance leaders said.
"We have sought names of possible candidates from the parties. We will finalise it very soon, but will not disclose the names until November 25," Col (retd) Oli Ahmed, coordinator of the 20-party alliance, told The Daily Star yesterday.
“We will choose candidates taking into consideration their track record, popularity and competency to win the polls," said Oli, also president ofLDP.
The Jatiya Oikyafront, formed a month ago consisting of BNP and several other opposition parties, may be offered
maximum 25 to 30 seats for its leaders to contest the polls under the banner of the Oikyafront.
If Gonoforum President Dr Kamal Hossain, a top leader of the alliance wants to run for an MP, he may be offered a seat in Bogura, which is considered a stronghold of the BNP.
Other senior leaders of the Oikyafront - Kader Siddique president of Krishak Sramik Janata League; ASM Abdur Rab, president of Jatiya Samajtantrik Party and Mahmudur Rahman Manna, convenor of Nagorik Oikya -- may get two seats each. Kader may contest the election from Tangail, Manna Bogra and Rab Laxmipur.
As of now, the policymakers plan to offer five seats each to the Gonoforum and the Krishak Sramik Janata League and three each to the JSD and the Nagorik
Oikya, said alliance sources.
Forward Party, another component of the Jatiya Oikyafront, may be offered one seat
BNP insiders said the party has already assured leaders from the 20-party alliance and the Oikyafront that decisions on the candidates would be made based on competence and popularity.
On the other hand, the bigwigs of the BNP want to contest the polls from Dhaka dty as they believe rigging votes there would be difficult for the government.
THE BNP'S SHARE
The BNP has sold a total of3,222 nomination forms to its leaders and activists in the last two days. The sale will continue for the next three days.
As planned, the candidates chosen
from the nomination seekers would be contesting in the 240 parliamentary seats, said insiders.
According to BNP leaders, the party has almost finalised its candidates for 150 constituencies.
The party would pick its contenders based on their popularity and performance It would leave the seats which it considers "tough" for its alliance partners.
In the last two days, thousands of BNP supporters and activists crowded the area in front of the party’s Naya Paltan central office from where the nomination papers were being sold.
The huge gatherings blocked the VIP Road from Fakirapool to Kakrail throughout the day yesterday, leading to traffic congestions and subsequent public suffering.