The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is considering leaving 27 constituencies for 16 smaller like-minded parties in the upcoming 13th parliamentary election, aiming to consolidate its strong electoral base against political rivals.
Party sources said the nomination board is now in the final stage of discussions, though some allies and like-minded parties remain undecided about their electoral stance. Several BNP leaders said nearly 50 parties joined the movements against the ousted Awami League, but only those with credible prospects of winning will be offered seats. Talks with them are set to resume next week to settle demands and positions.
“We are close to BNP in terms of political thinking. We have worked with them before. Still, there are many calculations, so it is too early to say for sure whether we will join an alliance,” said Mahmudur Rahman Manna, president of Nagorik Oikya and a leader of the Democratic Platform.
The 12-party alliance and the alliance of like-minded parties were among those that stood with BNP in past movements. The other active allies included Colonel Oli Ahmed’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Bobby Hajjaj’s National Democratic Movement (NDM), Andalib Partha’s Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP), Nurul Haque Nur’s Gono Odhikar Parishad, the Amar Bangladesh Party (AB Party), and the Democratic Platform led by ASM Abdur Rob and Manna.
BNP leadership is scrutinising every party and its leaders before making a final decision about sharing constituencies. With BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami declaring separate election alliances, BNP has begun preparing for a coalition of its own allies. Seat-sharing was discussed at the party’s standing committee meeting on Tuesday night.
Standing committee member Selima Rahman said, “Those who stood with BNP for a long time in the field will be valued. Although seat-sharing is not finalised yet, discussions are ongoing.”
According to insiders, BNP has tentatively set aside three seats for Oli Ahmed’s LDP: Chattogram-14 for Oli, Cumilla-7 for Secretary General Dr Redwan Ahmed, and Chattogram-7 for Presidium Member Nurul Alam Talukder.
Gono Odhikar Parishad may receive two constituencies—Patuakhali-3 for its president Nurul Haque Nur and Jhenaidah-2 for General Secretary Rashed Khan. Bobby Hajjaj is likely to contest Dhaka-13 on behalf of NDM, while BJP President Andalib Partha may get Dhaka-17 and its Secretary General Abdul Matin Saud Dhaka-5.
BNP has also proposed seven seats for five parties in the 12-party alliance: two each for Jatiya Party (Zafar) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam led by Mufti Mohiuddin Ikram, and one each for Bangladesh Jatiya Dal, Bangladesh LDP, and Islami Oikya Jote. Among them are Jatiya Party (Zafar) Chairman Mostafa Jamal Haider in Pirojpur-1 and Secretary General Ahsan Habib Lincoln in Kushtia-2.
From the Like-minded Alliance, Narail-2 is likely to be left for its chief and NPP chairman Dr Fariduzzaman Farhad. From the Democratic Platform, four candidates are being considered: JSD president ASM Abdur Rob, Manna in Bogura-4, Revolutionary Workers Party leader Saiful Haque in Dhaka-8, and Ganasanghati coordinator Zonayed Saki in Brahmanbaria-6. BNP has also agreed to support Labour Party President Mostafizur Rahman Iran in Pirojpur-2.
However, uncertainty lingers. The Democratic Platform has yet to confirm whether it will align with BNP, and Colonel Oli’s stance is also unclear. Gono Odhikar Parishad, AB Party, and the National Citizen Party (NCP) are exploring a separate bloc, raising doubts about their participation in a BNP-led coalition.
Mustafizur Rahman of the Labour Party, who received BNP’s nomination for the Pirojpur-2 constituency in the 2018 parliamentary election, said, “Discussions are ongoing with BNP leaders. The party is positive about me.”
Except for a few, most parties have little chance of winning an election if contested without any alliance. That’s why they are interested in joining a large party like BNP to ensure they have a chance in the next election, many leaders informed Times of Bangladesh.
Sources in the BNP said they would capitalise on the weak position of these parties and their leaders, which BNP think tanks believe will help consolidate a strong electoral stance against Jamaat, which is also making a desperate bid to build a strong electoral alliance for the mid-February 2026 general election, promised by the interim government of Muhammad Yunus.
