Five out of eight BNP standing committee members, who are neither in jail nor expelled by its detained chairperson, asked the Election Commission (EC) yesterday to invite Khandaker Delwar Hossain as the legitimate representative of the party to the electoral reform talks with it.
The request came in form of an official letter to the EC from the five standing committee members on the last day of deadline set by the commission for two feuding factions of the party to reconcile.
A delegation of the faction loyal to Chairperson Khaleda Zia handed over the letter signed by the five to the EC yesterday afternoon, as the 72-hour deadline for reunification came to an end.
The delegation at a meeting with the EC argued that their faction is now the mainstream of BNP deserving the commission's invitation to the electoral reform talks, since five out of the eight available undisputed standing committee members endorsed Delwar-led pro-Khaleda faction as legitimate.
