Expressing confidence and positivity, BNP announced its anticipation of forming the government by securing more than two-thirds of the seats with strong public backing. Mahdi Amin, the spokesperson of BNP Central Election Steering Committee, conveyed this upbeat outlook during a statement at 11:45 pm on Thursday, citing the vote count progress and detailed seat-wise information as the basis for their optimism.
Speaking at a press briefing held at the party’s election headquarters in Gulshan, Dhaka, Mahdi disclosed that BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman had informally emerged victorious in the Dhaka-17 and Bogura-6 constituencies. He highlighted the challenges faced by the party, attributing them to alleged manipulations, fraud, and other unlawful activities by political rivals since the previous night.
Despite the reported irregularities, Mahdi emphasized the substantial lead of ‘sheaf of paddy’ symbol candidates in numerous constituencies, with many already unofficially declared as winners. He pointed out instances of malpractice, fraud, and violence observed across the country during the election process, particularly mentioning specific seats like Dhaka-8, Dhaka-11, Dhaka-13, and Dhaka-16 where delays in vote counting and result announcements were perceived as intentional tactics.
Mahdi accused a specific political party of engaging in propaganda and breaching the election code of conduct to undermine the significant advantage of BNP candidates associated with the ‘sheaf of paddy’ symbol. He suggested that such election engineering might have influenced voter turnout and margins of defeat in select constituencies, potentially impacting the overall electoral dynamics.