NCP Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwari, Joint Member Secretary Zahirul Haque Musa, and Joint Convener Khaled Saifullah met with the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) at his office around 3 pm. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Musa said that the Election Commission had recently published a gazette introducing several new symbols, including ‘Shapla Kali’.
“In continuation of that, the NCP has submitted an application today selecting three symbols from the EC’s list — Shapla, White Shapla, and Shapla Kali. If the EC allocates the Shapla Kali, the NCP will accept it,” Musa said.
NCP leader Zahirul Islam Musa further explained that the party had chosen ‘Shapla’, ‘White Shapla’, and ‘Shapla Kali’ as its preferred symbols. “These are our current choices, and we have formally applied for them. NCP may issue a public notice considering ‘Shapla Kali’ as its official symbol,” he added.
Sources within the EC said that the meeting with the CEC focused on the inclusion of ‘Shapla’ in the list of electoral symbols. Despite repeated appeals, the EC has decided not to allocate the ‘Shapla’ symbol to any party, clarifying that it is not listed under the commission’s official election rules.
A notification signed by Election Commission Secretary Akhtar Ahmed was issued last Thursday, publishing an updated list of symbols for registered political parties and independent candidates. The ‘Shapla Kali’ symbol was added to this new list.
The NCP had long been demanding the ‘Shapla’ as its official party symbol. However, following the EC’s latest decision, the party is now willing to move forward with ‘Shapla Kali’.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission has decided to register two political parties ahead of the upcoming 13th National Parliamentary Election. Among them is the NCP, which is currently undergoing the formal notification process to verify if there are any objections to its registration.
