BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia presides over the party`s nomination board meeting to interview the mayoral aspirants in DNCC by-polls at her Gulshan office on Monday evening. Photo: Collected/Prothom AloCountry’s main opposition political party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has picked its old candidate Tabith Awal to vie for the mayoral post of Dhaka North City Corporation.

The party’s nomination board led by its chairperson Khaleda Zia took the decision after interviewing its mayoral aspirants at the party chairperson’s Gulshan office on Monday night.

“The nomination board has finalised Tabith Awal as BNP’s candidate for the DNCC mayoral by-polls,” BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told newsmen after the interview.

He said the party has taken the decision considering Tabith’s bright prospect for sweeping to the victory in the polls.

The BNP leader claimed that the party is joining the by-polls to the local government body, being held on the party lines for the first in Dhaka, as part of its street campaign against the AL-led “unelected government”.

After securing the party nomination, Tabith termed it a victory of youths. “It’s once again proved that the party chairperson wants to take the youths forward.”

Earlier in the day, five party nomination seekers submitted their forms with Tk 25,000 security money at the party's Naya Paltan headquarters.

The BNP’s special secretary Asaduzzaman Ripon, executive committee member Tabith Awal, assistant publication affairs secretary Shakil Wahed, Dhaka North city unit president MA Quayum, and former member of parliament Akhtaruzzaman on Sunday collected the nomination papers for contesting the by-polls on the party ticket.

Four of them, except Quayum who is now staying in Malaysia, turned up at the BNP chief's office for the interview.

Tabith contested the DNCC polls held on 28 April 2015 on BNP ticket and boycotted the voting halfway through bringing various allegations, including widespread vote rigging and obstruction to voters.

As per the schedule declared by the election commission, the by-polls to the DNCC mayoral post will be held on 26 February.

The DNCC mayoral post fell vacant with the death of Annisul Huq on 30 November last year.