The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has announced its list of candidates for the reserved women’s seats in the 13th National Parliament, with no representatives from the entertainment industry included in the final selection.
The party released the list of 36 nominees on Monday, April 20. Although several well-known figures from the cultural sphere had collected nomination forms earlier, none were ultimately selected.
Among those who had shown interest were singers Kanak Chapa, Baby Naznin, Rizia Parveen, Dilruba Khan and Dithi Anwar, along with dancer Farhana Chowdhury Baby and actress Rina Khan. Television personalities Rukaiya Jahan Chamak and Meghna Alam were also among the names that drew public attention during the nomination phase.
Party sources said the final selection was based on internal assessments and political engagement, with priority given to long-standing party activists and organisational leaders.
The absence of entertainment figures from the final list has drawn discussion within cultural circles, particularly regarding popular playback singer Baby Naznin, who has long been associated with BNP politics.
Supporters of the singer expressed disappointment, noting her past involvement with the party and her time away from the country during earlier political unrest.
The approved list includes several senior party leaders and women’s wing representatives, namely Selima Rahman, Shirin Sultana, Rasheda Begum Hira, Rehana Akhter Ranu, Farida Yasmin, Bilkis Islam, Shakila Farzana and others from across different organisational tiers.
