Infighting grips BNP over nomination list for Feb polls
Abu Jakir :
Intra-party feuds within the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have intensified following the announcement of its nomination list for the upcoming national elections scheduled for February.
Protests by grassroots leaders and activists have erupted in several districts across the country, with many expressing anger and frustration over the exclusion of certain senior figures from the list of candidates.
On November 3, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced the names of prospective candidates for 237 parliamentary constituencies, urging those who were not selected to remain patient and loyal to the party.
“To those who did not receive nominations, please keep faith. In Shaa Allah,
the party will give you due responsibilities and respect,” Mirza Fakhrul wrote in a message to disappointed leaders.
However, the appeal has done little to calm discontent in some areas, where supporters of rival BNP factions have clashed, prompting local administrations to intervene.
In Gaibandha’s Saghata upazila, authorities imposed Section 144 from 6 a.m. to midnight on Sunday amid fears of escalating violence between supporters of BNP’s nominated candidate Faruk Alam and expelled leader Nahiduzzaman Nishad, who is running independently from Gaibandha-5 (Saghata-Fulchhari).
The decision was confirmed by Saghata Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mir Md Al Kamah Tamal, who said tensions arose after rival groups organized separate motorcycle processions that led to altercations and clashes.
Local sources reported that at least 15 people were injured and several motorcycles vandalized during the confrontation in the Dakbangla area on Saturday evening. Police later brought the situation under control.
Both candidates remained unreachable for comment, while the local police chief, Monir Hossain, said the overall situation had returned to normal.
In Bandarban, the internal rift has taken a quieter but equally persistent form. Although both factions of the district BNP publicly claim unity, they have continued to operate separately after the central committee nominated Sachingpru Jerry as the party’s candidate for the Bandarban-300 constituency.
Despite repeated directives from the BNP high command in Dhaka and Chattogram to work together, the two camps—one led by Jerry and the other by Mamaching and Zabeed Reza—have yet to share a common platform.
During Friday’s observance of Revolution and Solidarity Day, only Jerry’s faction organized a procession and rally, while the rival group carried out separate programmes in Lama and Alikadam.
Zabeed Reza downplayed the divide, saying, “Sachingpru Jerry has been announced as a provisional candidate. If his nomination is finalized, everyone will work for the party’s symbol. There is no division in the BNP.”
Nonetheless, party insiders admit that long-standing rivalries in Bandarban have repeatedly weakened the BNP’s electoral strength in one of its traditional strongholds.
Even after the central leadership dissolved the dual committees and formed a unified district body, the two groups have continued to function independently.
Similar unrest was also reported in Brahmanbaria-5 (Nabinagar), where supporters of BNP’s former candidate Kazi Nazmul Hossain staged a massive protest demanding reconsideration of the party’s nomination of Abdul Mannan.
On Sunday afternoon, thousands of activists and local residents formed a 12-kilometre human chain from Nabinagar town to Bangra Bazar, chanting slogans for Nazmul’s reinstatement as the candidate.
Speakers at the demonstration, including former Nabinagar mayor Md Moin Uddin and district BNP leader Hojrot Ali, argued that Nazmul had remained active during political movements against the previous regime, while Mannan had been absent from the constituency for over two decades.
“Those who fought on the streets deserve recognition. The people of this constituency want Kazi Nazmul Hossain as their candidate,” said Hojrot Ali.
The BNP leadership has yet to respond to calls for reviewing the nomination. Party insiders, however, maintain that additional candidates for remaining constituencies will be announced soon, and efforts are underway to contain factional disputes that could threaten unity ahead of the crucial February election.