BNP's acting chairman Tarique Zia will hold a series of talks with the party's grassroots leaders from today to fire up the party's rank and file ahead of the "final phase of its movement", party sources said.

As part of the initiative, Tarique will hold talks with 256 former and current union parishad chairmen of Rangpur division today over video conference, the sources said.

These talks will be held in all 10 organisational divisions of the party till March 16, a senior party leader, wishing not to be named, told The Daily Star.

"The party's acting chairman will then hold meetings with former and incumbent municipality mayors, upazila chairmen, and city corporations mayors," the leader said.

Another senior leader said Tarique Rahman took this particular initiative to engage grassroots leaders in the final phase of the party's movement to press home their 10-point demand, including election under a non-partisan interim administration and resignation of the incumbent government.

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"Tarique Rahman is engaging himself to remove all divisions and to cement unity at the grassroots. When top leader of the party talks to a union level leader, they certainly get charged and energised," he said.

The party has prepared the list based on the elected former and current chairmen since 1991, when the BNP first came to office under the leadership of party Chairperson Khaleda Zia.

The party has already held a series of programmes at the union, upazila, district and divisional levels to drum up public support in favour of their demands to hold free and fair polls under a caretaker government.

The government, however, has stuck to its position that the election would be held under the incumbent government in accordance with the constitution. The next election is scheduled to be held in December this year or January next year.

Election Commission Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed has said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and other ministers cannot inaugurate any development project or lay any foundation stone until the results of the upcoming general election are announced.

"As per the electoral code of conduct, persons enjoying government privileges, prime minister, ministers, MPs, deputy leader and others can't inaugurate any development project, lay any foundation stone and make any donation and assistance during the election time," he said while talking to reporters at his office at the Nirbachan Bhaban on Wednesday, reports UNB.

The EC secretary said his office will ensure level playing field before the allocation of election symbols to the candidates for holding the upcoming general election in a free, fair and credible manner.

He also said adequate policemen will be deployed so that executive magistrates can smoothly operate mobile courts in order to enforce the electoral code of conduct.

Special police protection would also be provided during the transportation of election materials.

Replying to a query, he said special attention would be given to maintain peace and discipline in frontier and remote areas.

The election commission secretary also mentioned about separate instructions given to law enforcers to take steps so that any militant groups cannot rear their ugly heads on the eve of the election.

The government will make all-out efforts to bring opposition BNP to the next parliamentary election, slated for late next year.

Besides, the ruling Awami League will participate in the polls with its 14-party allies, said party sources.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also the AL chief, said this at a meeting of the AL Central Working Committee (ALCWC), the highest decision-making body of the party, at the Gono Bhaban last night.

She also said voting in all 300 parliamentary constituencies will be held using electronic voting machines (EVM), meeting sources said.

At one point, AL presidium member Shajahan Khan wanted to know whether the party and the government would take any initiative to bring the BNP to the next national polls.

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In response, Hasina said her party will take every initiative to bring the opposition party to the election, the sources added.

After boycotting the 2014 parliamentary polls, the BNP contested the last general election and also took part in elections to local government bodies with its electoral symbol "sheaf of paddy". But the party recently boycotted local government polls saying that free and fair elections are not possible under the current administration.

Photo: PID

At the meeting last night, Hasina said the next general election will be held in a free and credible manner and it would be a participatory one.

She said her government would provide all-out support to the Election Commission to hold a credible election.

The PM criticised some of her party leaders, saying those who are not confident about their win don't want BNP to take part in the national polls.

She also said conspiracies are afoot to make the next national polls controversial. Naming Dr Kamal Hossain of Gonoforum, Mahmudur Rahman Manna of Nagorik Oikya and Reza Kibria of Bangladesh Gono Odhikar Parishad, she said they can do nothing, said the sources.

The AL chief also said 14-party alliance is with her party and it will contest the next general election with the "ideological partners". She asked the party leaders to maintain good relations with the allies. 

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Hasina also suggested maintaining close relations with friendly countries who, she thinks, would be a factor in the next polls.

She asked her party leaders to prepare for the election and also for the AL's tri-annual conference and advised them to complete all district conferences within December. The tenure of the current central committee of the AL will expire that month.

Talking tough on the party's rebel candidates, the PM said those who contest local body elections against party candidates can't be contenders at the grassroots councils, said sources.

"Election will be held using EVM and it would be a participatory one. Don't think you will win the election only on the party ticket. You will have to win by dint of your popularity and merit," an AL central leader who participated in the meeting quoted Hasina as saying.

The PM's hints at all-EVM JS polls come when Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal several times said they were yet to make any decision about using EVMs in elections and they were studying the system.

Earlier in March when the newly constituted EC sat with civil society members and other professionals, eminent citizens opined that the commission should refrain from using EVMs in polls unless there is consensus regarding the use of the technology.

They also urged the EC to take steps to restore people's trust in it.

UNB reports: The PM in her introductory speech said her party always comes to power through elections, never by the backdoor.

The premier thanked the people for repeatedly voting her party to power.

"Due to this, the country witnessed massive development in the last 13 years, leading to rise in the people's living standards," she said.

The AL chief underscored the need for strengthening the party as the national election is due late next year.

She said her successive governments since 2009 gave importance to developing the rural areas.

"As a result, the infrastructure in rural areas have improved a lot and people could go to their village homes smoothly."

She mentioned that during the Eid-ul-Fitr this year, people could go to their villages without facing hassles. She thanked the road transport minister for this.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has given the nod to her party's plan to join the upcoming parliamentary polls and enforce a series of agitation programmes in the run-up to the election, party insiders said.

Khaleda was released from the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) yesterday and taken to a makeshift court set up inside the old Dhaka central jail. She was produced there in connection with the Niko graft case. 

Khaleda gave the signal after BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir briefed her about the plan, taken up by the party's executive committee, on the court premises, insiders said, adding, Fakhrul was accompanied by several other BNP leaders.

The BNP chief had been admitted to the hospital on October 6 following a High Court order.

Contacted, Fakhrul said he had a discussion with Khaleda and that he enquired about her health.

He did not make further comments.

Later in the day, the BNP leader, however, shared his conversation with Khaleda with several other leaders, the insiders said, preferring anonymity.

The party plans to hold agitation programmes until the deadline for the electioneering ends to press the government to meet its demands, including an election under a nonpartisan government.

The insiders said Fakhrul talked to the BNP chief for little over a minute and informed her about the executive committee's decision.

In reply, Khaleda asked Fakhrul to also hold discussions with the leaders of the 20-party alliance and the Jatiya Oikyafront to finalise the agitation programme, they said.

Later, the BNP chief was sent to jail again.

The executive committee meeting, attended by BNP vice chairmen, advisers and secretaries, was held at the BNP chairperson's Gulshan office on Wednesday. Thirty-two of the 35 secretaries, who attended the meeting, opined that a movement should be launched ahead of the election, party sources said.

"We have no alternative to a movement. However, we will prepare for the election at the same time,” Mohammad Shahjahan, a vice chairman of the party, told The Daily Star.

BNP Organising Secretary Ruhul Quddus Talukdar Dulu said,” We have to go for a movement to realise our demands."

At the same time, the party will keep its doors open for talks.

Although the government is yet to accept any of the seven demands placed by the newly floated Jatiya Oikyafront, comprising the BNP and other parties, the BNP has no plan to boycott the election, said another senior leader.

The weeklong talks between the ruling alliance and 72 opposition parties ended on Wednesday, but all the major contentious issues that have created uncertainty ahead of the election remain unsettled.

During the second round of talks with the opposition alliance, Jatiya Oikyafront, the Awami League-led combine outright rejected the former's proposals for formation of a polls-time neutral government led by a chief adviser, dissolution of parliament before the announcement of election schedule and deferment of the election by a month.

The Oikyafront leaders threatened that they would launch movements to realise their demands if the government refuse to budge. The alliance will march towards the Election Commission as it announced the election schedule even after their repeated request to defer it.

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Although the BNP led-20 party alliance yesterday expressed frustration at the announcement of the polls schedule, many top BNP leaders are in favour of participating in the election to be held on December 23.

Soon after the schedule was unveiled, the BNP held a standing committee meeting.

BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman also primarily instructed party leaders and activists to prepare for the election, said party sources.

The BNP and the Oikyafront would press the Election Commission to reschedule the election, the sources said.

The BNP believes though formal dialogues ended, it was still possible to reach a solution through “informal” talks, added the sources.