Dhaka: Dropping its incumbent mayors, BNP has picked two new faces to vie for the mayoral posts in Gazipur and Khulna city corporation elections with the symbol of ‘sheaf of paddy’.

The party has nominated its executive committee member Hasanuddin Sarkar and Khulna city BNP president Nazrul Islam Monju as its mayoral contenders for Gazipur and Khulna city polls respectively.

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir came up with the announcement at a press conference at BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office, reports the UNB.

Earlier, Awami League on Sunday picked Talukder Abdul Khaleque and Advocate Jahangir Alam as the party candidates to contest the elections to Khulna and Gazipur city corporations respectively.

On March 31, Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda announced the election schedule for Khulna and Gazipur city corporations.

According to the election schedules, the deadline for the submission of nomination papers is April 12, while the dates for scrutinising those are April 15 and 16, and the last date for the withdrawal of candidature is April 23.

Earlier on Sunday night, BNP’s nomination board interviewed the party’s nine nomination seekers for the two city polls.

BNP candidates Moniruzzaman Moni and Prof MA Mannan were elected mayors in Khulna and Gazipur polls respectively in the 2013 polls.

However, the party dropped the two incumbent mayors to retain the two mayoral posts with new candidates.

Party insiders said though Mannan is still very popular in Gazipur, he is not physically fit for contesting against a young Awami League candidate Jahangir Alam.

They also said Moni was not given nomination as some local leaders are against him as he reportedly did not maintain communication with party leaders and activists after being elected mayor.