According to the draft proposal a person cannot be elected the party chairperson or the secretary general for more than twice consecutively. A party leader also cannot be nominated for the post of the prime minister more than twice, said a reformist leader.

"We have reached a consensus but some changes might come to the proposal before it is announced," the leader said.

Earlier, Ashraf Hossain, a joint secretary general of the party and also a leader of the reformists, told The Daily Star that the party reform proposal will be made public sometime this week through a news conference or an official statement.

The reformist leaders led by the party's Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan will suggest bringing major changes to the party constitution to curtail the unlimited power of the party chairperson.

Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan continued his discussions with the reformist leaders in his residence yesterday while a bigger reformist meeting was held somewhere else under the direction of Mannan although he himself was not present there.

The party chairperson's adviser Maj Gen (retd) ZA Khan, former lawmaker SA Sultan Titu, and Nazir Hossain met Mannan yesterday.

Terming the stalling of the ninth parliamentary election as a disaster, ZA Khan told reporters, "The party leadership has to take the responsibility for the January 22 disaster."

When asked about the possibility of Khaleda's departure from the top post of the party he said the party is absolutely responsible for the current debacle it is in and the captain of any team should take the responsibility if the team loses a match.

When asked about the reform proposal, Khan after his meeting with the party secretary general told the reporters that the proposal will be announced soon after it is finalised through discussions with all.

In reply to a question he said they did not come to a decision yet regarding discussing the reform proposal with party Chairperson Khaleda Zia.

"She gave the party many things, now she should give the new leaders a chance," BNP chairperson's adviser told a private TV channel yesterday. "It's not fair that a person, then his or her son, and then again his or her grandson will keep leading the party," he said.