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The ruling BNP has stepped up preparations for local government elections, due to begin in phases on 21 January next year, prioritising younger candidates with clean images, strong grassroots support and broad public acceptance.
The party is conducting nationwide field surveys to identify popular, competent and honest candidates under the directives of BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, a source close to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said on condition of anonymity.
A senior party policymaker described the election as an acid test amid misinformation and smear campaigns against the government by opposition parties, including the main opposition in Parliament, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
To avoid defeat, the BNP is giving grassroots opinions top priority in candidate selection, the leader said.
BNP lawmakers and local leaders in constituencies without BNP lawmakers have been asked to identify smart, popular, honest, dedicated and widely accepted candidates through surveys, a joint secretary general said, requesting anonymity. Direct grassroots support and a clean public image will outweigh personal identity and party rank at every level, the leader said.
Under the BNP’s selection process, upazila committees will recommend candidates to district committees, which will review the choices before forwarding lists to divisional teams. The divisional teams will examine irregularities, referring unresolved issues to senior central leaders.
The party aims to complete selection through multiple grassroots reviews and surveys, minimising irregularities and ensuring nominees in every area before the final election stage.
Special committee for coordinated campaigns
On instructions of Prime Ministers Tarique Rahman, who is also the BNP chairman, the ruling party has formed a four-member committee to coordinate its members’ participation in the local elections, sources said.
Members are Standing Committee members Nazrul Islam Khan and Ismail Zabiullah, Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and National Executive Committee Special Secretary Belayet Hossain Mridha. The committee may be expanded, a member said, requesting anonymity.
DM Ziaur Rahman Zia, a BNP Rajshahi district convening committee member who contested the 13th parliamentary election from Rajshahi-4 (Bagmara), told the Daily Sun that the party leadership had instructed senior local leaders to thoroughly scrutinise candidates for competence, honesty and popularity. Party rank or title would not determine eligibility, he said, expressing confidence that the selection would follow Tarique Rahman’s directives.
Standing Committee member Ismail Zabiullah told the Daily Sun that the BNP and the government were working to ensure free, fair and inclusive local elections nationwide.
“We are making every effort to select capable, honest and popular candidates in consultation with local lawmakers and senior leaders, bridging intra-party divisions in line with the directives of BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman,” he said.
Local elections ensure administrative continuity and accelerate grassroots development, Zabiullah said. The government wants people from all walks of life to participate and elected representatives to work directly for public welfare, he added. Asked about possible intra-party chaos in the absence of grassroots committees, Zabiullah said forming them takes time and cannot happen overnight.
On 20 October, Tarique Rahman said at a programme in Chattogram that his government would not interfere in local elections, unlike the previous “fascist regime”. Party members and activists must unite behind candidates acceptable to voters and capable of winning, he said. Election Commissioner Brigadier General (retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah announced on 12 October that union parishad elections would be held in five phases from 21 January to 27 May 2027.