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BNP Calls for National Elections by Mid-2025

Staff Correspondent; Politics 2025-01-14, 8:38am

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An emergency meeting of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Standing Committee was convened this evening at the political office of BNP Chairperson in Gulshan. The meeting, presided over virtually by BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman from London, focused on key political issues, particularly the timeline for the upcoming national elections.


Sources within the party revealed that the committee emphasized the need for the national elections to be held by mid-2025, in line with public demand. The BNP leadership expressed concerns over the proposed local government elections, suggesting that holding such elections before the national polls would be a "waste of time." Instead, they called for the interim government to prioritize the national elections and leave local elections for the newly elected government.

To advance this demand, BNP leaders plan to organize meetings and seminars, pushing for the elections to be held ahead of the interim government's scheduled timeline.

Additionally, the meeting addressed the recent increase in VAT, taxes, and duties on over a hundred goods and services in the midst of the fiscal year, which sparked concerns within the party. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is set to hold a press conference tomorrow afternoon at the BNP Chairperson’s office in Gulshan to brief the public on the meeting’s resolutions.

The Standing Committee also expressed satisfaction over the ongoing recovery of Begum Khaleda Zia, BNP’s ailing leader.

Present at the meeting were standing committee members Dr. Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Barrister Zamir Uddin Sirkar, Dr. Abdul Moyeen Khan, Nazrul Islam Khan, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Salauddin Ahmed, Begum Selima Rahman, and Hafiz Uddin Ahmed. Mirza Abbas and Professor Dr. AZM Zahid Hossain participated virtually from London.