A day after the Narayanganj City Corporation (NCC) elections were held in a free, fair and neutral manner, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed and Health Minister Mohammad Nasim  yesterday urged BNP to get ready for the next general polls.
At a meet-the-press programme at the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU), Tofail expressed his hope that the next parliamentary elections would be held in a similar way.
 “The BNP will take part in the next general elections, which will be held under the present government. If the BNP doesn’t take part in the elections, the Awami League would be the gainer,” Tofail said The BNP had made an error by staying away from the 2014 parliamentary elections. If the 2014 elections had not been held, the country would have had a military government and the scenario would have been like that in Thailand, Tofail claimed. “I hope the BNP will take part in the next parliamentary elections without any conditions,” he further said.
The BNP did not make any allegations and conceded that the NCC polls were held in a free and fair manner, he said. “People of Narayanganj cast their votes for the AL-nominated candidate as Ivy is a very popular leader,” he added.
Responding to a query, Tofail said though the owners of readymade garments (RMG) factories in Ashulia have closed their factories, it was very unfortunate.  “I hope the garments owners will open their factories for the sake of the country’s economy.”
DRU president Shakawat Hossain Badsha presided over the programme while organisation secretary Morsalin Nomani and other executive members were also present at the event.
Meanwhile, Awami League presidium member and health and family welfare minister Mohammed Nasim yesterday praised people for the AL candidate’s landslide victory in the NCC poll. He called upon the BNP to get ready for the next general elections, to be held in 2019.
“The Narayanganj City Corporation elections were held in a free, fair and neutral manner. Take a lesson from the polls and be prepared for the next general elections,” he told a grand rally of health assistants at the Institution of Diploma Engineers auditorium in the city. Bangladesh Health Assistant Association (Dhaka division) organised the rally, with its president Md Abul Waresh in the chair.
“The election was held in a free, fair and neutral manner. People of Narayanganj voted for the ‘boat’ symbol as it is a symbol of development,” he said. People of Narayanganj proved once again that they were with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Nasim said.
The minister said the people’s verdict proved that the country had made progress under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
“The win is a verdict against the BNP-Jamaat alliance. It is a verdict against terrorism and militancy. It is a verdict in favour of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s versatile leadership,” he said. Joint general secretary in the public administration ministry Mahmud Hasan, Bangladesh Health Assistant Association president Abdullah Al Ansari and general secretary Enayet Rabbi Litan addressed the function, among others.