Dhaka, Feb 13 (IANS): With the Election Commission of Bangladesh stating that it is preparing to hold general elections anytime after December 2025, two former allies Bangladesh National Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami are at loggerheads over having local elections first.

Led by key opposition leader Khaleda Zia, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party is against prioritising local elections over national elections.

The BNP has emerged as the largest political party in Bangladesh after the fall of arch rival Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government in August 2024.

The party's Secretary General Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Thursday said that prioritising local government polls over national elections is a plot to lead the nation to a more fragile situation.

"The sooner the (general) elections are held, the smoother the political situation will be in the country. The people of Bangladesh will come to a state of stability," local media quoted Alamgir as saying on Thursday.

The BNP leader emphasised that there is a constant need to restore stability and introduce good governance in Bangladesh.

On the other hand, its former ally Jamaat-e-Islami, a radical Islamist party which has now poised itself as a rival of the BNP in the post-Hasina era in Bangladesh, prefers holding local government elections over the parliamentary polls first.

On Thursday, a Jamaat delegation led by its Secretary General Golam Parwar, met with the election commissioners and discussed various issues in the run-up to the elections.

Briefing the media after the meeting, Jamaat leaders said that the party wants local government polls to be held first as per the aspirations of the people.

The latest reactions emanate from the recent statements made by the Bangladesh Election Commission where it asserted that the poll panel is preparing to hold the national elections in or after December 2025.

The Commission stated that it is not making preparations for any other elections at present. However, it added, that, if the government decides, the EC is prepared to organise local government elections before the national polls.

BNP is not only opposed to Jamaat's stance on giving local elections precedence over national elections but is also against their proposal to adopt proportional representation voting system in national elections.

The rift between the two former allies seemingly grew after the latest statements coming out of the EC.

Two reform commissions formed by the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus have also recommended holding local government polls before national elections.