Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday instructed her cabinet colleagues to work for maximum voter turnout in the 10th parliamentary election scheduled for January 5 in case the BNP boycotted it.
She, however, said maximum effort will be given to bring BNP to the election race, and asked her party's general secretary to continue dialogue with the BNP, several cabinet members said after a meeting held at the Secretariat.
Hasina, also the president of Awami League, said BNP would be given the ministries it demands. She, however, ruled out the BNP's demand for stepping down as head of the polls-time administration, they said.
"If I quit as chief of the polls-time government to meet the BNP's demand, it will not be a solution. To reach a consensus, both sides must come forward with a compromising attitude," a minister quoted Hasina as saying.
The premier said the Election Commission is an independent body and is running its affairs without any interference.
"I wanted the election to be held in December but it didn't, which means the election commission is working independently," she was quoted as saying by the minister, who talked to The Daily Star on condition of anonymity.
At the meeting, AL General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam briefed the premier about the outcome of talks with his BNP counterpart Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in the capital's Banani on Saturday night.
Non-partisan polls-time government without Hasina, immediate release of all senior leaders and making the Naya Paltan central office free from confinement were the pre-conditions of the BNP to participate in the election, Ashraf told the PM.
Hasina also told the meeting that so many attempts on her life were made. "There were grenade and bomb attacks, but it is the Almighty Allah who saved me every time," the minister quoted Hasina as saying.
The premier asked the ministers and state ministers to play effective roles so that all political parties could take part in the election.
She, however, said if BNP finally boycotts the election, it would be held according to the schedule.
"The dialogues are going on with all political parties except Jamaat," AL presidium member and Agricultural Minister Matia Chowdhury told The Daily Star.
She said the AL general secretary had already talked with BNP's acting secretary general and more such talks would take place as part of the effort to bring BNP to election.
Talking with a private TV channel at the Secretariat yesterday, Syed Ashraf said dialogue was not only going on at the general secretary-level but also at multiple levels in line with the desire of the PM.
The contents of the much-talked-about meeting with Fakhrul would be disclosed through a press briefing within a day or two, he said.
"Prime Minister is very keen about the dialogue as she wants the participation of all in the election," he added.
On Sunday, some of the newly appointed ministers said the acceptability of the election would depend on how many voters cast their votes.
Addressing an inaugural ceremony of the newly constructed Dhaka Bar Association building at Dhaka court premises yesterday, Hasina reiterated her call upon the BNP to join the "all-party" polls-time government so that no confusion arises about the fairness of the election.