Despite the illness of party chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has not stepped back from preparing the electoral field, a fact underscored by its announcement of candidates for a further 36 constituencies.

BNP leaders claim that by abolishing the traditional system of selling and submitting nomination papers, they have avoided the commercialisation surrounding nomination purchases. According to the party, final lists were made only after independent organisations conducted public opinion assessments in each constituency. Even so, controversy persists, with supporters of nomination-deprived leaders protesting in several areas.

Earlier, the party had announced candidates for 236 constituencies, saying then that some seats would be left for allies. A few constituencies were withheld due to internal disputes. In total, the BNP has now declared candidates for 272 seats, leaving 28 still pending. The number of BNP allies and coalition partners is significant, the 12-party alliance, six parties of the Ganatantra Mancha, and several others have reportedly expressed interest in contesting the election jointly with the BNP. But where the BNP itself has multiple qualified aspirants per seat, allocating seats to others remains a challenge.