Dhaka: A day after her meeting with her party’s senior leaders, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia is going to sit with the chiefs the 20-party alliance tonight (Monday night) to decide whether it should boycott the remaining Union Council (UC) polls or not.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at the BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office at about 8:30pm with Khaleda in the chair, said BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

He said their chairperson will take the final decision about the UC polls after taking the opinions of the BNP-led 20-party alliance leaders.

Earlier on Sunday night, Khaleda had nearly a two-hour meeting with her party’s standing committee members, vice chairmen, chairperson’s advisers, BNP joint secretaries general and organising secretaries seeking their opinions about its participation in the remaining phases of the UC polls.

Talking to UNB, a number of BNP leaders who were present at the meeting said most leaders suggested the party chief to stay in the polls as it is intensifying anti-government sentiment among people and justifying their demand for holding the national election under a non-party administration.

On the other hand, some leaders opposed it saying BNP leaders and activists at the grassroots are getting frustrated as the party candidates are helplessly getting defeated in the polls with party symbol.  

Hearing the opinions of the party leaders, Khaleda decided to consult the alliance leaders before finalising her decision in this regard, said her adviser Ahmed Azam Khan.

Around 30 people were killed and several hundred others injured in the two phases of the elections to 1,354 UPs held on March 22 and March 31.

BNP-nominated candidates won the polls in around 108 chairman posts in the two phases. The party claimed that the elections were marred by vote rigging, capturing of polling stations and widespread violence.