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After taking office, the BNP government appointed administrators to 11 city corporations and 56 zila parishads.

The BNP high command has instructed grassroots units to prepare lists of potential candidates for the local government bodies. However, the party has yet to finalise candidates in many areas, as the leadership wants to avoid internal clashes before making decisions.

BNP Joint Secretary General Syed Emran Saleh Prince said the party would support only one candidate in each area, or the opposition might gain an advantage. “Support will be given based on popularity and acceptability.”

Meanwhile, opposition parties have already begun unveiling candidates they intend to support. Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP), who were partners in the February national election, are expected to contest the upcoming local polls independently, according to party sources.

Party sources said Jamaat is moving fast in finalising its candidates, with local leaders already instructed to begin groundwork.

For the mayoral race, the party is considering Narayanganj city unit chief Abdul Jabbar; in Gazipur, Jamaat is likely to back Hafizur Rahman, a former Dhaka North Shibir secretary; in Chattogram, former councillor Shamsuzzaman Helali; and in Rangpur, city unit chief ATM Azam Khan.

For Dhaka North, unit chief Selim Uddin is being considered, while Ducsu Vice President Abu Shadik Kayem is under discussion for Dhaka South.

“We are preparing across the country,” said Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Abdul Halim. He said the party has almost finalised all its candidates. “We are getting ready to contest independently, on our own.”

NCP, also planning to take part independently, announced mayoral candidates for five cities on March 29 and top candidates for another 100 upazilas and municipalities on May 10.

Seeking to replicate Jamaat’s strategy in the national polls, NCP leaders said early announcements are intended to give their candidates an advantage.

For the mayoral posts, NCP is backing party spokesperson Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain for Dhaka South, while senior joint convener Ariful Islam Adeeb is set for Dhaka North. The party is also backing Tariqul Islam in Cumilla, Md Mobashwer Ali in Rajshahi and Abdur Rahman Afzal in Sylhet.

Adeeb said that his party was looking to strengthen its grassroots but did not dismiss the possibility of an 11-party alliance once the schedule is announced. “However, for now, NCP is preparing independently.”