Khaleda meets alliance leaders on Poura polls

Staff Reporter :
BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia sat with top leaders of the 20-party alliance on Thursday night to discuss overall political situation of the country and whether they would join the December-30 municipal polls or not.
Khaleda Zia called the meeting in her Gulshan office at 9:00 pm, a day after holding a marathon meeting with her party’s senior leaders. The 20-party leaders’ meeting began after 9:00 pm and it was continuing till filing of the report at about 10:30 pm.
In the Wednesday’s meeting with her party leaders, Khaleda Zia discussed various issues relating to municipality polls, country’s latest political situation, organisational activities, party overhaul and party’s council.
After the meeting, BNP’s spokesman Dr Asaduzzaman Ripon said, “The meeting elaborately discussed the municipal polls. No decision was finalised in the meeting. The responsibility for working out a strategy and finalising the decision about taking part in the polls has been bestowed upon Khaleda Zia. She will inform us about her decision soon.”
The meeting sources said that most of the senior leaders of the BNP suggested their party chief to go to the polls. The BNP chief was also positive about joining the elections, but she said that she would finalise the decision after discussions with the 20-party alliance leaders.
In the meeting, the BNP leaders opined that the party would lose more if it does not participate in the municipal polls.
Earlier on Tuesday, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad announced that elections to 234 municipalities would be held on party-basis for the first time.