No party election till minister is there!

The committees were selected at the biannual council of Tanore upazila BNP, held on Tanore Pilot High School premises.

Election was avoided as the minister preferred selection of his men, the sources said.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

As per the selection, Shish Mohammad retained his post of president of the 71-member Tanore upazila committee while Monsur Rahman and Mozammel Haque Khan were made general secretary and organising secretary respectively.

Khakikur Rahman, Arshad Ali and Shahidullah were made president, general secretary and organising secretary respectively of the 51-member Tanore municipal committee.

The Mundumala BNP committee was formed with Mozammel Haque, Afshar Ali and Ataur Rahman as president, general secretary and organising secretary respectively.

Talking to The Daily Star, Shish Mohammad said the question of election does not arise as long as the minister is there.

"All BNP men in Tanore abide by the minister's decision and the committees have been selected unanimously", he said.

But many BNP leaders preferring anonymity said they were not given any chance to contest for posts in the new committees.

"Whenever we stood up (at the convention) for election, we were forcibly stopped and some pro-election leaders were driven out", said one of them.

More than 100 people joined BNP during the council. Notable among them was rajshahi University teacher Mozammel Haque.