The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has finalised a primary list of 237 candidates to contest the upcoming national election, with several senior and young leaders securing nominations.

The decision came following an emergency meeting of the party’s Standing Committee on Sunday. Later in the evening, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced the list of constituencies where candidates have been finalised.

According to the list, BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia will contest from three constituencies — Dinajpur-3, Bogura-7, and Feni-1.

BNP’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, who will be contesting a parliamentary election for the first time, has been nominated from Bogura-6.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir himself will run from Thakurgaon-1, while Standing Committee members Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, and Mirza Abbas will contest from Bhola-3, Dhaka-3, and Dhaka-10 respectively.

This year, the party has nominated a significant number of young leaders and former leaders of its student wing, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, as part of an effort to bring new faces into mainstream politics.

Party sources said the BNP has finalised 232 constituencies so far, keeping some seats open for alliance partners and constituencies with multiple strong contenders.

The final list was prepared after a series of meetings with divisional-level leaders.

Several key seats, including Dhaka-7, Dhaka-9, Dhaka-10, and Dhaka-13, have not yet been announced, as they are expected to be allocated for coalition partners, insiders said.