& 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 puts trust in first-time candidates

Party unveils list of 202 candidates

Staff Correspondent
The BNP is banking on new faces in this general election. Yesterday, the party unveiled its final candidates for 202 seats, with at least 90 of them first-time candidates.
The number is expected to rise further when the BNP announces its final candidates in around 50 more seats today, after it hears from the Election Commission about the appeals filed by its candidates against the rejection of their nomination papers, party sources said.
The EC completes disposal of all appeals, including those by Khaleda Zia, today.
The BNP has agreed to offer up to 50 seats to its partners in the 20-party alliance and the Jatiya Oikyafront. Separate lists of their
candidates are likely to be disclosed today, sources said.
The Jatiya Oikyafront, a newly floated combine of the BNP, Dr Kamal Hossain's Gonoforum and several other parties, was supposed to unveil the list of its final candidates yesterday, but it was postponed.
Unveiling the list of the 202 BNP candidates, party Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said they would disclose names of the rest of the candidates, including those from the 20-party alliance partners and the Oikyafront, today.
He made the announcement in the afternoon, hours after the ruling Awami Leaguerevealed its final candidates in 240 seats, setting aside 56 for its allies.
Also yesterday, the BNP started issuing letters to the candidates who in turn will submit those to the returning officers as BNP's final contenders on or before December 9, the last date for pulling out.
The EC will decide on party chief Khaleda Zia's appeals today.
All three nomination papers she filed in Bogura-6, Bogura-7 and Feni-1 were rejected by the returning officers on grounds of her conviction in two corruption cases. The former prime minister was given 17 years in jail in the two cases.
If she loses the appeals, her chances of running in the December 30 election will be even slimmer. There will be little time for launching a legal battle in the Supreme Court, as the deadline for finalising candidacies expires tomorrow.
Khaleda landed in jail on February 8, and has yet to win a legal battle against her conviction.
The party has backup candidates in all her three constituencies, but did not disclose the names.
Fearing that many nomination papers of the party leaders might be rejected by the returning officers on various grounds during scrutiny, the BNP fielded multiple candidates in most constituencies.
In all, it fielded 695 candidates in 295 seats. During scrutiny, 141 were rejected. However, more than four dozen of them won appeals in the EC in the last two days.
The list of the 202 candidates was finalised following a series of meetings.
The BNP is relying on new candidates as some senior leaders died since the party contested the last election 10 years ago. Also, nomination papers of some senior leaders have been rejected on various grounds, including conviction in graft cases.
Some of the new faces are family members of the deceased leaders.
The rest are senior leaders, former ministers and MPs who ran in 2001 and 2008.
Around a dozen BNP leaders who were expelled from the party for their role in 2007-2008 were brought back and given nominations.
The new faces include Naushad Jamir, son of BNP Standing Committee Member Jamir Uddin Sircar. He will run from Panchagarh-1.
Sansila Jebrin, a 26-year-old physician, is BNP's youngest candidate from Sherpur-1. Prominent singer Romana Morshed Kanak Chapa will run from Sirajgani-1.
Former AL lawmaker Colam Mawla Rony, who had joined the BNP after failing to get AL ticket, is now BNP’s candidate for Patuakhali-3.
Convicted former state minister for home affairs Lutfozzaman Babar's wife Tahmina Zaman is likely to get nomination for Netrakona-4. Babar was convicted in August 21 grenade attack cases andtentruckarms haul case.
LIST OF CANDIDATES - PAGE 12