National Citizen Party chief coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary on Monday said that the party would only accept lotus as its electoral symbol and the choice must be made by authorities from white lotus, red lotus and lotus.
鈥楾here can be no deviation from this, and if any attempt is made to do so, we will respond accordingly, as we know how to deal with such matters,鈥� he told reporters after a meeting with the chief election commissioner at the Election Commission office at Agargaon in the capital Dhaka.
Nasiruddin said that the discussions with the CEC had focused on three issues 鈥� the party鈥檚 registration, the demand for the lotus symbol and the voting rights of expatriates.
He said that while positive news regarding the party鈥檚 registration was expected soon, there were concerns about conspiracies to block the lotus symbol.
鈥榃e are not moving away from the lotus symbol. From our party鈥檚 position, we remain firm and we want to make all state institutions aware that the NCP will not compromise on this matter,鈥� Nasiruddin said.
Replying to a question, he said that the NCP had predicted a sweeping victory in the forthcoming national election, claiming that it was on course to win 150 seats, as it pushed forward with plans to consolidate a wider youth-led alliance.
Nasirudin said the party was preparing to contest all 300 constituencies, promising 鈥榓 ballot revolution that would reshape the country鈥檚 political landscape鈥�.
He claimed that the next parliament would exclude both the Awami League and the Jatiya Party, while the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, in his projection, would secure no more than 50 to 100 seats.
The interim government, which assumed office after the ouster of the authoritarian Awami League regime in a mass uprising past year, suspended the activities of the AL until the trial of party leaders over atrocities during the July uprising.
According to Patwary, the NCP has conducted surveys that suggested 鈥榮trong nationwide support鈥�, and it plans to put forward a diverse slate of candidates, including ulema, lawyers, journalists, women, workers, farmers, and former army officers who took part in the mass uprising.
Nasiruddin said that the NCP was positioning itself at the head of a new political bloc, separate from both the BNP-led camp and Islamic parties.
He explained that a central part of this strategy was the creation of a broader youth alliance, aimed at uniting political groups formed by young people over the past 15 years.
Nasirudin mentioned that discussions were under way with the Gono Odhikar Parishad and other parties, which had expressed interest in joining the coalition, although the final arrangements were still under negotiation.
He said that the alliance would be built on shared principles rather than seat-sharing deals, with partners required to dissolve their individual party names and symbols in favour of operating under the NCP鈥檚 banner.
