Ahead of the upcoming national parliamentary elections, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has released a preliminary list of potential candidates for 237 constituencies. However, the name of the party’s prominent leader Rumeen Farhana is notably absent from the list.

Rumeen Farhana was expected to contest from Brahmanbaria-2 (Sarail-Ashuganj), but no candidate has yet been announced for that seat.

In addition, the BNP has not declared candidates for 63 constituencies in this initial announcement.

Speaking to journalists on Sunday (November 3) after an emergency meeting at the BNP Chairperson’s political office in Gulshan, a party spokesperson shared the information.

He said that in the upcoming election, BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia will contest from three constituencies—Feni-1, Bogura-7, and Dinajpur-3. The party’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman will contest from one constituency, Bogura-6.

Before the announcement, the BNP’s Standing Committee, the party’s highest policymaking body, held an emergency meeting at 12:30 pm. The meeting lasted about five hours and was chaired virtually from London by Tarique Rahman. Discussions focused on finalising party candidates for the upcoming national election and determining the party’s strategy amid the current political situation.

The national parliamentary election is expected to be held in the first half of February, with the official election schedule likely to be announced in early December, according to the Election Commission.