More really big surprises are in store for the opposition political parties ahead of the high voltage upcoming parliamentary polls.
Many high profile BNP leaders are going to resign from the party very soon expressing no-confidence in BNP acting chairman Tareque Rahman.
Surprise may continue till the deadline of nomination papers withdrawal.
BNP insiders hinted to Bangladesh Post that many top brass BNP leaders were privately expressing growing dissatisfaction over the BNP top leadership.
Many BNP leaders had opposed Tareque Rahman’s decision to make alliance with ultra Islamist Bangladesh Jamaat Islami.
But ignoring the majority opinions, Tareque Rahman and his right wing fellows about merged the party within the extremist Jamaat.
Many other clean image BNP central leaders, mostly the standing committee members, the highest policy making forum of the BNP, had repeatedly suggested that Tareque Rahman join the upcoming national polls under the current constitutional framework.
But Tareque Rahman did not pay heed to their suggestions. As a result, many BNP leaders, who are known as the pro-liberation faction of BNP, started submitting resignations from their posts.
BNP sources on condition of anonymity claimed that many more central BNP leaders have submitted resignations and are to take part in the next polls, some as independent candidates, while some others as the candidates of the newly registered political parties like Trinamool BNP, Bangladesh Nationalist Movement (BNM) and Bangladesh Supreme Party (BSP).
In a latest development, BNP Vice Chairman Shahjahan Omar, who is a veteran freedom fighter resigned from the party and got a nomination from the ruling Awami League to contest the January 7 general election from Jhalakathi-1.
He made the surprise announcement at a press conference at the city's Kawran Bazar Thursday evening.
Talking to Bangladesh Post, Biplab Barua, AL's office secretary confirmed the latest development.
Shahjahan Omar is a former state minister. He is a retired major of the Bangladesh Army and was awarded Bir Uttom for his heroic contribution in the liberation war of 1971. He is also a famous lawyer.
He was arrested in a case filed over setting a bus on fire in Dhaka's New Market area in early November. He walked out of jail on bail on Tuesday.
Farhana Yasmin, assistant returning officer of Rajapur upazila, confirmed to local correspondent that Shajahan submitted the nomination papers for Jhalakathi-1 online from AL.
Before that, BH Harun, the incumbent AL MP in the constituency, also submitted his nomination papers from the ruling party.
Harun was among the 298 candidates announced by AL for the upcoming national election.
Meanwhile, Trinamool BNP on Thursday nominated candidates for 280 seats for the upcoming 12th national polls.
Among them, at least five were former BNP MPs who had earlier joined Trinamool, while 100 other BNP leaders took nomination forms from the Trinamool BNP.
Bangladesh Nationalist Movement (BNM) has announced the names of 82 candidates for the upcoming 12th national parliamentary election. Many of them are also former parliamentarians of the BNP.
Some of them are also former ministers. A large portion of them were retired army officers.
