A Correspondent:
Thakurgaon: BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday categorically said that there is no alternative to holding the upcoming 13th national elections on time.
“If the general election is not held in the first half of February 2026, Bangladesh will become a failed state” he said.
Fakhrul made the remarks in a view exchange meeting at the K.K. Bari High School field with the resi-dents of Borgaon Union in his constituency.
Referring to the much-talked about July Charter, the veteran BNP leader said, “The interim government held discussions with various political parties for nine long months on the July Charter, which was signed based on the consensus of all parties”.
“If any attempt is made to implement anything outside of that agreement (charter), the government will have to bear the responsibility,” he added.
Criticizing Jamaat-e-Islami for seeking delay holding of the election, Mirza Fakhrul said, “People know why you want to postpone the election…Everyone is certain that you are trying to delay the polls out of fear of losing the election.”
Regarding the Proportional Representation (PR) system, Fakhrul said, “Through this system, the party will be elected, and the party bosses in Dhaka will decide who will become an MP. The general public will not be able to elect the person of their choice as their representative. At the same time, there will be no opportunity for any non-partisan independent candidate to be elected.”
Referring to BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman’s 31-point plan, he said that if the BNP comes to power, every farmer will receive agricultural inputs including fertilizer and seeds from the government at a fair price.
Besides, the mothers and sisters of every family will receive a ‘Family Card,’ which will enable them to purchase daily necessities, including rice, pulses, and oil, from the government at an affordable price.
He, however, said that making a demand to the government, the BNP has brought a project named ‘Inte-grated Development Project for the Neglected and Underprivileged Rangpur Region,’ involving Taka 350 crore under which urgent development work, including road construction from Thakurgaon to Pan-chagarh, has begun.
He announced the commencement of 11 kilometers of paved road work in Borgaon Union under this project.
In this connection, he said if the BNP forms the government after the next general election, this devel-opment project would be expanded.
With Dr. Ahmad Ali in the chair, Thakurgaon District BNP President Mirza Faisal Amin, Sadar Upazila President Abdul Hamid, General Secretary Mahbub Hossain Tuhin, among others, were present in the meeting.
