Govt intervention stopped campaign advert: BNP

BNP today alleged that the party could not telecast an advertisement as part of its electoral campaign due to government intervention ahead of the country’s maiden partisan municipality polls.

“After taking permission from the Election Commission, we made a video advertisement calling upon the voters to cast their votes for the BNP mayoral candidates. However, no media dared to telecast it due to government interference,” Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said.

The BNP acting secretary general was addressing a discussion marking the 35th founding anniversary of Krishak Dal at the Institution of Engineers in Dhaka.

Fakhrul also claimed that law enforcement agencies so far arrested over 6,000 BNP men centring the municipality polls, adding that the government was conspiring to keep BNP out of the December 30 municipality polls, but failed.

As part of the conspiracy, the government decided to hold the local body polls under political banner assuming that BNP would not participate in it. The government wants to show its popularity among the people through holding a “one-sided municipality polls”, Fakhrul said.

“We will remain in the election field till the announcement of election results. We want to show that country’s people are with BNP and boycotted Awami League,” Fakhrul added.