¶¶Òõ¾«Æ·

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Friday termed the demand for a referendum before the Jatiya Sangsad elections from the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its allies a plot to foil the 13th JS polls announced to be held in February 2026.

 BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir made the remarks at a rally in front of the party’s Naya Paltan central office in Dhaka before leading a procession organised by the party’s Dhaka City south and north units to mark ‘November 7 National Revolution and Solidarity Day’.

 ‘A political party has formed an alliance with several others. They are now putting pressure on the government to hold a referendum before the elections,’ said Fakhrul who presided over the rally.

 Reasserting the BNP’s position that any referendum must be held on the same day as the national election, Fakhrul said, ‘Holding two separate votes will cost a lot of money.’

 ‘Those who are demanding a referendum before the elections are conspiring to foil the electoral process,’ he added.

 The BNP, he said, has made it clear that if there has to be a referendum, it must take place on the day of election and the polls must be held in February.

Otherwise, the people of the country will not accept it, he further said. 

Fakhrul also accused the interim government of creating a situation over the implementation of the July National Charter2025. 

‘It’s unfortunate that the interim government, which we fully supported, is now itself creating a situation so that the election may be disrupted,’ he said. 

Referring to the advisory council decision on the referendum and the demands raised by several parties, Fakhrul said, ‘We suddenly saw one of the advisers hold a press conference where he said that the council has decided to give political parties seven days to hold discussions among themselves and reach a decision.’ 

‘Then what was the purpose of the seven months of meetings held by the Consensus Commission to achieve the National Charter? You have spent a huge amount of money holding discussions and reviewing reform proposals. Didn’t that result in any political consensus?’ he said.

The Jamaat and some other parties have been demanding a referendum in November on implementing the July Charter for a while before the national election.

 Fakhrul also said, ‘The spirit of November 7 is the spirit of democracy. Our party, the BNP, was born through reform. Our leader president Ziaur Rahman initiated that reform.’

And today, Tarique Rahman has provided a new blueprint for national progress through the 31-point reform agenda, he went on to say. 

‘We will move forward with that goal. We will participate in the upcoming elections and, Inshallah, by winning the elections we will build a new Bangladesh.’ 

After the rally, a procession led by Fakhrul started from in front of the party’s central office and marched through Kakrail, Malibagh, Moghbazar, and Banglamotor before ending at the Karwan Bazar crossing. 

Earlier in the day, Fakhrul, accompanied by thousands of leaders and activists, placed wreaths and offered Fateha at the grave of the party’s founder Ziaur Rahman, to mark the ‘National Revolution and Solidarity Day’. 

The day commemorates the civil-military uprising of November 7, 1975. 

On this day in 1975, during a spell of political unrest, soldiers and civilians jointly freed the then chief of army staff Ziaur Rahman from captivity at Dhaka Cantonment, clearing the way for him to assume power. 

After paying tributes at the grave of Ziaur Rahman at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital, Fakhrul told journalists that various efforts were once again under way to destroy democracy in Bangladesh. 

On November 2, the BNP announced a 10-day programme to mark the day extensively, aiming to highlight its historical importance.

As part of the programme, the party flag was hoisted atop all its offices across the country in the morning.

Apart from Dhaka, all district and upazila units of the party also held rallies on the day marking the day.