Dhaka: BNP senior leader Moudud Ahmed on Saturday hinted that their party might join the upcoming municipality polls saying that their party will not give the ruling coalition any scope to score in an empty field.

‘We’re yet to take any decision about municipality polls. We’ll take a decision on it at the party forum after the return of our leader Khaleda Zia from London,’ he said.

Moudud, a BNP standing committee member further said, ‘We hope our leader will return home very soon and we’ll take a pragmatic decision on the matter. There’s a fair chance that we’ll join the polls.’

He came up with the remarks while talking to reporters after placing wreaths at BNP founder Ziaur Rahman’s grave with party leaders and activists marking the 'National Revolution and Solidarity Day’.

BNP and its associate bodies are observing' the day with various programmes, commemorating the civil-military 'uprising' in 1975. Other political parties and different socio-cultural organisations are also observing the day from different historical perspectives.

On this day in 1975, amid political turmoil soldiers and civilians jointly freed then chief of army staff Ziaur Rahman from captivity in Dhaka cantonment, paving the path for Zia to come to power.

Though the party boycotted the 5 January 2014 general election, BNP joined the last three major city polls held on 28 April this year.

However, the party stayed away from the polls just four hours after the voting started, citing that the polls were 'rigged, farcical and marked with irregularities'.

The Election Commission is planning to hold the municipality polls in December on party lines for the first time as an ordinance in this regard has been issued recently.

Moudud warned that if the government tries to show the same attitude it did during the last three city polls their party will come up with resistance.

As his attention was drawn to Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader’s remark that BNP has no qualification to sit in dialogue, Moudud said their party will continue the process to forge a national unity with other democratic parties, no matter who says what.

Replying to another question as to when Khaleda Zia will return home, Moudud said, ‘We’re eagerly waiting for her return. She’ll return among us after the end of her treatment.’

He said the spirit of the Liberation War and independence is now obliterated as there is no democracy in the country. ‘The democracy we’d practiced over 20 years is now missing…we’re now on a movement to restore democracy and it will intensify in the days to come.’

About 7 November, he said on this day democracy had been established in Bangladesh. ‘Ziaur Rahman had introduced the multiparty democracy ending a one-party rule, and ensured the rule of law and be people’s basic rights. ‘So, this day is very much important to us.’

BNP standing committee members Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman, Nazrul Islam Khan, vice chairman Alataf Hossain Chowdhury, chairperson’s adviser Shamsuzzaman Dudu, joint general secretary Mahbubuddin Khokan and other leaders and activists of the party and its associate bodies were present.