A total of 431 aspirants from three political parties, including the BNP, have collected nomination papers over the past 12 days for the upcoming women’s reserved seat election to the 13th National Parliament.

However, only three candidates have submitted their nomination papers as of this afternoon. The deadline for nomination paper submission is April 21.

Md Monir Hossain, deputy secretary of the Election Commission (EC) and assistant returning officer for the reserved seats election, confirmed the development to The Daily Star this afternoon.

According to the EC official, of the 431 nomination papers collected, 417 were taken by BNP aspirants, 13 by Jamaat-e-Islami, and one by Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis.

Monir Hossain said that with only two days remaining before the deadline, only three candidates -- Sanjida Islam Tulee, Nilufar Yasmin Moni, and Ashrafun Nahar -- have submitted their papers. All three are BNP nominees.

On April 8, the EC announced the election schedule, setting voting for May 12.