Nasiruddin Patwari, Chief Coordinator of the National Citizen Party (NCP), said there is no legal obstacle preventing them from receiving the ‘Shapla’ (Water Lily) symbol. He added that if any such obstacle arises, they will fight politically. “We have no option other than Shapla. There is no alternative to Shapla,” he said.
Patwari made these remarks on Sunday following a meeting between a five-member NCP delegation — including Southern Region Chief Organizer Hasnat Abdullah and Northern Region Chief Organizer Sarjis Alam — and Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission (EC) has added 46 new symbols to its existing list of 69, bringing the total to 115 for the current electoral schedule. However, the ‘Shapla’ (Water Lily) symbol was excluded from the final list, meaning no political party will be allowed to use it as an electoral symbol. Leaders of the NCP condemned the decision, calling it biased and farcical.
According to EC officials, a committee initially shortlisted 150 symbols for inclusion in the official list. The Commission later trimmed this to 115 and sent the revised list to the Ministry of Law for vetting. The ‘Shapla’ symbol was not included in the final version.
On June 20, the NCP applied for party registration with the EC, listing ‘Shapla’ as its first choice for an electoral symbol. The party also mentioned ‘Pen’ and ‘Mobile Phone’ as alternatives; both are included in the newly approved list, meaning the NCP may be allotted either the mobile phone or pen symbol.
Earlier, on April 17, another political group — Nagorik Oikya, led by Mahmudur Rahman — also applied for the same symbol. Both parties have held multiple meetings with the EC regarding symbol allocation.
On July 9, the EC finalized the list of 115 symbols as part of its amendment to the National Parliamentary Election Conduct Rules. The list was sent to the Ministry of Law for vetting the same day, with the ‘Shapla’ symbol notably excluded.