After suffering a massive defeat in the 11th Parliamentary Election, BNP is now mulling to drop its electoral symbol ‘paddy sheaf’ in upcoming Upazila polls, which the leaders say a strategy ‘to protect the party’s image’.
The BNP fears yet another massive defeat if it joins the Upazilla polls under the incumbent government prompting its leaders to take ‘different strategies’.
In a recent meeting on Jan 16, majority of the BNP policymaking body National Standing Committee members opined for not to use ‘paddy sheaf’ logo in the Upazila polls.
They advised that BNP itself should not join the polls under this government. Boycotting the polls may throw BNP’s organisational capacity into question, they said.
The policymakers opined for leaving the party’s aspirants to contest the Upazila polls ‘independently’.
BNP, however, yet to decide whether it would join the Upazila polls or not, committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain told Bangla Tribune.
One of Hossain’s fellow committee members somewhat clarified that the field is open for the activists. “But we (BNP) won’t contest polls with the party symbol.”
“Literally, no victory is possible in any polls under this government. Why we should let ‘paddy sheaf’ go down until we can turn around (politically),” said the party policymaker, who preferred to go unnamed.
Another BNP leader insisted on participating in the Upazila poll by following any strategy, which the party deems necessary. “Boycotting the polls will shatter the activists’ moral strength,” said the leader, who is a vice president of the party.
BNP Vice-Chairman Shamsuzzaman Dudu echoed with his party leaders.
Leaving the ‘paddy sheaf’ may be a strategy, Dudu categorically admitted before claiming that the government has stanched every organisation.
“Any change through election has been sealed off. Now, a mass upsurge is necessary,” he said.
The Election Commission is likely to announce the schedules of the elections to the Upazila councils early February.
The EC has planned to conduct the elections in five phases beginning from the first week of March.
For the first time, the Upazila polls will be held in party lines. Previously, the political parties had unofficially supported to the candidates, but this time the aspirants will be contesting with the party’s logo.
The first Upazila council elections were held in 1985 in 460 upazilas while the last one was held in 2014 in 487 upazilas.