BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday said elections to university student unions would have no impact on the upcoming national parliamentary polls.

He said the BNP’s student wing, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, had been deprived of any organisational activities on university campuses over the last 17 years.

Fakhrul also expressed dissatisfaction over the country’s law and order situation ahead of the election.

He made the remarks while speaking to journalists at his Kalibari residence in Thakurgaon.

“The people of the country are waiting for an election, but I am not satisfied with the current law and order situation,” Fakhrul said. “Political leaders are being killed at an alarming rate, and many leaders of our party have also been murdered. We have strongly condemned these incidents and expressed our anger, but no effective measures have been taken by the government.”

He urged the government to act more responsibly and ensure that such incidents do not recur.

Referring to the proposed referendum, the BNP leader said his party had earlier demanded that the national election and the referendum be held on the same day, which has now been accepted.

“The reforms that are being put to a referendum were outlined long ago in BNP’s 31-point reform agenda,” he said. “Since reforms are a continuous process, there is no logical reason for BNP to oppose it.”

On security concerns, Fakhrul said he himself was not wearing a bulletproof jacket. “As attacks on political leaders have increased, many may feel the need to take extra security measures, including wearing bulletproof jackets,” he added.

He also described BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman’s ongoing visit to northern Bangladesh as “very significant”.

“If BNP gets the opportunity to form a government in the future, backward regions will be given much higher priority,” Fakhrul said, adding that the visit would further energise party leaders and activists in the region.

He clarified that Tarique Rahman’s tour was a personal one, during which he would visit the graves of July movement martyr Abu Sayeed and other martyrs, and attend a doa mahfil marking the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia.

District BNP President Mirza Faisal Amin, General Secretary Poygam Ali, Poura BNP President Shariful Islam Sharif, Sadar Upazila BNP General Secretary Mahbubur Rahman Tuhin, among others, were present on the occasion.