The schedule for the Union Parishad (UP) elections has not yet been announced. However, potential BNP candidates have already begun preparing for the polls. Even before receiving instructions from the party’s central leadership, they have started campaigning in various areas.

According to party and grassroots sources, multiple BNP leaders are expressing interest in contesting the chairman post in almost every union. Some have already begun reaching out to voters. In some unions, as many as three or four BNP leaders are preparing to run.

As a result, selecting a single party-backed candidate and uniting the others behind that candidate has emerged as a major organisational challenge for the BNP.

BNP leaders say they have not yet received any formal instructions from the central leadership regarding candidate selection or election strategy. Potential candidates are preparing on their own. The organisational process of choosing one candidate from among several potential contenders has also not yet begun.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission (EC) wants to begin the UP elections towards the end of the year. It plans to announce the election schedule in September. The government has also said that elections to all five tiers of local government will be completed within the current fiscal year. Taken together, political activity at the grassroots level could intensify soon as parties prepare for the local government elections.