Sajjad Hossain

The BNP yesterday announced its final list of 36 nominees for the 50 reserved seats for women in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad, putting forward a mix of seasoned politicians, young organisers, and family-linked figures.

A section of BNP’s women leaders is unhappy that the party has opened the door to outsiders and little-known figures in the race for women’s reserved seats in parliament.

The BNP high command has decided to take a tougher stance against a section of its grassroots leaders and activists amid growing complaints that their misconduct is damaging the ruling party’s image and giving the opposition more room to criticise.

As dawn broke over Bhasan Char, Mohammad Nur, a Rohingya refugee, stepped out of his shelter with an axe and headed towards a patch of trees on the island, southwest of Sandwip and 37 miles off the coast of the Bay of Bengal.

BNP is still struggling to finalise its nominees for the Jatiya Sangsad seats reserved for women, as a large number of leaders are seeking nominations, whereas Jamaat-e-Islami has completed its preparations and is ready to name its candidates for the 13th parliament.

While treasury and opposition lawmakers clash on the parliament floor over the July charter implementation order, the two sides are also holding back-channel talks outside the assembly hall to end the stalemate.

Some senior BNP leaders have expressed disappointment with the way the repeal of several key ordinances, issued during the interim government, was handled.

The government has decided to step back from new development projects and cut public spending in a broad austerity drive, as it seeks to conserve state resources and manage rising pressure on fuel supply and distribution.