Intense battle ahead between Dhaner shish and Shapla Koli in polls: Nasiruddin Patwary

Nasiruddin Patwary, Chief Coordinator of the National Citizen Party (NCP), has said that a fierce contest will take place between the Dhaner shish and Shapla Koli symbols in the upcoming national election. He also confirmed that the party will field candidates in all 300 constituencies.

He made the remarks at a media briefing at the Election Commission (EC) on Sunday, November 2.

Nasir said, “We have been pressing the EC to revise the list of election symbols. In their updated list, we noticed a new symbol named Shapla Koli.”

“In our preference list, we placed Shapla first, White Shapla second, and Shapla Koli third. If another party applies for the same symbol, there could be a resemblance with our preferred symbols. That’s why we’ve applied for Shapla Koli today,” he explained.

He further said, “The Election Commission is moving very slowly, even though the election atmosphere has already started building up across Bangladesh. We want to take part in the election and ensure that the February polls are held smoothly.”

Speaking about the symbol, Nasir said, “We’ve received positive responses from people across the country about Shapla Koli. It’s a step ahead of Shapla—meaning, it carries both the flower and the bud.”

He urged the EC to expedite NCP’s registration process so that the party could begin campaigning with its symbol. “There will be a neck-and-neck fight between Dhaner Shish of BNP and Shapla Koli of NCP in the coming election,” he added.

Patwary reiterated that NCP is preparing independently and will contest all 300 seats. “We will have a strong fight against BNP and Jamaat with Shapla Koli. The Shapla is already well recognised among people—now Koli is being added to it,” he said.

“We are choosing Shapla Koli. Should we remain stuck over symbols? We are taking this decision for the greater interest. We call upon everyone to prepare for the election,” Nasir said.