At least 25 crude bombs went off at 11 places in Rajshahi last night

Over a hundred crude bombs exploded in several places in Habiganj town last night, which police claimed was carried out by BNP activists

As the nation heads to the polls today, the BNP continues its two-day hartal as part of a polls-boycott movement. The party has also called for a non-cooperation movement to remove the current regime and demanded elections under a neutral administration.

The culmination of campaigning for the upcoming 12th parliamentary polls in Chattogram has been marked by violence, particularly clashes between Awami League candidates and their independent counterparts.

In preparation for the upcoming 12th national election today, the Rapid Action Battalion has deployed 700 patrol teams across the country to ensure security.

With the country going to polls today, Awami League candidates in Pabna-1 and 3 are finding it hard to keep up with their independent counterparts.

A group of Dhaka University students formed a human chain yesterday and urged voters to refrain from casting votes and stay home on January 7, calling it a “one sided” election.

The Awami League will be fully focused on turnout as the nation heads to the polls today.

Jatiyo Party will closely monitor the election and will take further decisions depending on the situation surrounding the polls today, said party chairman GM Quader yesterday.

Natasha Jesmin, a teacher of the Academia School in the capital’s Wari, boarded a Dhaka-bound train around 7:00pm on Friday after a visit to her home in Faridpur.

The Election Commission has ordered the upazila election officer to lodge a complaint against Moazzem Hossain Ratan, incumbent lawmaker and independent aspirant from Sunamganj-1, in connection with an attack on a local Awami League office in Dharmapasha upazila.

BNP-Jamaat might continue sabotage even after the election, said Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader yesterday.

As the nation goes to polls today for a third straight time under Sheikh Hasina-led government, the outcome is already a foregone conclusion. The 12th parliamentary election will go down in history as a race between Awami League candidates and Awami League “independents”.

BNP has rejected the Commonwealth secretary general’s call for a “conducive environment” in the January 7 election, terming it a “farcical exercise” that contradicts the people’s aspirations for democracy.

At least 13 teachers were removed from the list of presiding officers for Rajshahi-6 (Charghat-Bagha) on Friday night.

Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal yesterday said they will try to hold the national election in such a manner that it gets local and international acceptance.

At least three relatives of Awami League candidate and Social Welfare Minister Nuruzzaman Ahmed are serving as presiding officers in the Lalmonirhat-2 constituency.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen yesterday said they will leave no stone unturned to identify the perpetrators who set fire to a moving train on Friday night.

The BNP has adopted a strategy of using social media to discourage voters from casting ballots in today’s election, said party sources.

Leaders of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad have expressed concern over growing pressure and threats targeting religious minorities centring the national election today.