BNP fields 288 candidates, Jamaat 224

A total of 1,732 contenders from 51 registered political parties and 249 independent candidates are competing in the national election from the country's 300 constituencies, according to the Election Commission.

In its latest statistics released on Wednesday night, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is fielding the highest number of candidates, with 288 nominees, while Jamaat-e-Islami with 224 candidates.

Of the total candidates, 1,972 are contesting in 298 constituencies and nine have been declared valid candidates in Pabna-1 and Pabna-2.

Among other participating parties, 253 candidates are from Islami Andolan Bangladesh, while 192 from Jatiya Party, 90 from Gono Odhikar Parishad, 65 from Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), 42 from Insaniat Biplap Bangladesh, 39 from Basad, 34 from Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish and 32 from National Citizen Party-NCP.
This time Awami League is out of the electoral race as its registration remains suspended since the interim government slapped a ban on its activities.

Besides, eight other registered political parties didn't join the election.

Fifteen candidates are vying for the Dhaka-12 seat in the polls, the highest from a constituency in the country, while only two contenders, from BNP and Jamaat, are running in Pirojpur-1, the lowest.

The total number of contesting candidates stands at 1,972 in 298 constituencies (except Pabna-1 & 2).

But, the figure is expected to rise further once the candidates from Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 are finalised and if the court would direct the EC to allow any other to run in the election.

Political parties and candidates are launching their formal campaigns from today (January 22).