Zakir Hossain / Dhaka
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has strongly opposed any delay in the national election, calling it anti-democratic and a betrayal of the July–August mass uprising. “Those who want to delay the election are surely not pro-democratic forces and not pro-July-August revolution forces,” BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said on Sunday at a press conference in Gulshan.
He stressed that people demand an immediate election, and BNP believes the process will move forward based on recent discussions between Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman in London.
Fakhrul also alleged that certain individuals and vested groups are spreading false propaganda to tarnish BNP’s image. “But people are not responding to it. They know BNP very well and its role in achieving positive change for Bangladesh,” he said. He reaffirmed that BNP is a liberal democratic party committed to contesting power through elections. “We do not want to come to power through a revolution or any other means. We have fought for 15 years to restore democracy,” he asserted.
Refuting claims that BNP is against reform, Fakhrul reminded that BNP was the first to propose reforms in 2016 through Khaleda Zia’s Vision-2030. “We later presented 27-point and 31-point reform proposals and held extensive campaigns to present them to the public,” he said, blaming a coordinated campaign for misrepresenting BNP’s stance.
Fakhrul highlighted BNP’s continued strength, saying, “The blood of hundreds of martyrs and the sacrifices of our activists have further strengthened BNP’s unity.” He added, “We are committed to restoring democracy and resisting authoritarianism and fascism.” He urged all parties to rise above narrow interests and use this historic opportunity to build a humane, discrimination-free, and prosperous Bangladesh, inspired by the spirit of the Liberation War and the 2024 uprising.