Tension erupts over BNP candidate selections in Rajshahi
Staff Reporter :
Ahead of the 13th National Parliament Election, intense tensions have arisen within the local BNP over candidate nominations in four constituencies of Rajshahi.
Protests and demonstrations demanding changes in nominations are taking place, and incidents of internal conflict and violence within the party have already occurred. Several clashes have left three people dead and many others injured.
These internal disputes are posing significant challenges to the election process, and there are even fears of “rebel candidates” contesting in multiple constituencies.
Local leaders and activists have alleged that candidates were imposed centrally without assessing grassroots realities or popularity.
Meanwhile, due to the ill health of Begum Khaleda Zia, election campaigning has largely been suspended.
Although no major incidents occurred in recent days, there are fears that serious internal clashes could erupt at any time.
On 3 November, the central leadership announced the party-nominated candidates for 34 out of 39 constituencies in the Rajshahi division.
According to the announcement, out of Rajshahi’s six constituencies, two received new faces while four were allocated to existing candidates.
The nominated candidates for the six constituencies are: Rajshahi-1 (Godagari-Tanore): Md. Shafik Uddin,Rajshahi-2 (Sadar): Mizanur Rahman Minu, Rajshahi-3: Shafiqul Haque Milan, Rajshahi-4: D.M.D. Ziaur Rahman, Rajshahi-5: Professor Nazrul Islam, Rajshahi-6 (Bagha-Charghat): Abu Saeed Chand.
Among these, local BNP members have demanded changes in four constituencies, excluding Rajshahi-2 (Sadar) and Rajshahi-6 (Bagha-Charghat).
Local leaders claim that during the nomination process, consideration was not given to BNP leaders who remained loyal during difficult times.
They also allege that candidates were imposed from the centre without evaluating their popularity or ground-level support.
Supporters of the deprived aspirants have been protesting against the nominations.
Since the announcement, followers of the four deprived constituencies have held protests, violent clashes, press conferences, road blockades with shrouds on their heads, and other forms of demonstration demanding candidate changes.
There have even been attacks on the homes of supporters of nominated candidates by aspirants’ supporters.
With reciprocal protests, the situation has escalated rapidly. However, the central leadership of BNP has not intervened, allowing tensions to grow further day by day.