Though the party boycotted the January 5 national election, BNP is going to participate in the upazila polls in a bid to invigorate its frustrated grassroots-level leaders and activists and establish its influence on local politics, reports UNB.
Buoyed by their successes in the five city polls held last year and people's "low response" to the January 5 election, the party high-ups believe that they have the strong possibility to win polls in most local bodies if there is no election engineering.
Many BNP leaders, meanwhile, have bought nomination papers following the directives of the party high-command and some of them already submitted those to contest the first phase of elections slated for February 19.
"Upazila elections are non-political ones. But our party leaders will contest the polls with people's support as per the expectations of the party grassroots," said BNP standing committee member Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman.
Mentioning BNP a pro-election party, he said their party high-ups are taking the election with a great importance as local bodies cement the foundation of democracy.
Asked why they are allowing their party men to run the polls since they boycotted the general election, Mahbub said the nature of the two elections is quite different. "Change in regime comes through the national election which doesn't happen in local body polls. We'd earlier also joined city polls under the Awami League regime and the current Election Commission."
The BNP policymaker also said the party grassroots are very eager to join the election as they think it will eventfully strengthen their party in local areas and boost up their confidence and vigour.
Party sources said the party high-command has assigned some senior leaders to unofficially nominate competent candidates to contest the polls in favour of the party in consultation with local leaders.
Contacted, party vice chairman Abdullah Al-Noman told the news agency that though they boycotted the 10th parliamentary elections, the party is not doing the same strategy in the upazila polls. "Local leaders will contest the polls in consultation with the grassroots party followers."
Echoing Mahbub, Noman said the party ranks and files are very eager to contest elections to the local government bodies as they think their possible overwhelming success in it will mount pressure on the government to hold a fresh general election alongside revitalise the party grassroots.
On January 19, the Election Commission announced the schedule for the first phase polls for 102 upazilas across the country.
As part of staggered 4th upazila elections, the commission on Thursday also declared schedules for more 117 Upazilas.
The commission arranges the countrywide upazila elections in six phases by June this year.
The elections to the three posts of upazila chairman, two vice chairmen, including a reserved vice chairman exclusively for women in each upazila will be held.
BNP had boycotted the last upazila polls held in 2009, a few days after the ninth parliamentary elections where Awami League-supported candidates secured around 400 of 480 positions of upazila parishad chairman.
But the party took part in the elections in Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barisal, Sylhet and Gazipur city corporations and the parry-supported candidates won all the polls.
A party policymaker, wising anonymity, said some senior party leaders in a recent meeting with its chairperson Khaleda Zia advocated for joining the upazila elections to show the government its popularity and establish its political control in local bodies.
As the senior leaders have been able to convince the party chief that grassroots leaders and activists will get demoralised further if the party again boycott the upazila polls, Khaleda agreed to allow the party leaders to contest the polls.