<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>BNP on Thursday extended the ongoing mass contact and leaflet distribution programme for another two days until Saturday to drum up public support in favour of the party’s call for boycotting the Januray-7 election and not cooperating with the Awami League government.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi came up with the announcement at a virtual press briefing.</div><div><br></div><div>"Our mass contact and leaflet distribution programme is going on across the country. This program will continue across the country on Friday and Saturday,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The BNP leader called upon the leaders and activists at all levels of their party and the like-minded parties and alliances to observe the programme for two more days for mobilising public support for boycotting the upcoming one-sided election, ongoing non-cooperation movement and the one-point demand for holding the polls under a non-party neutral administration.</div><div><br></div><div>BNP’s like-minded parties also announced a similar programme.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier on December 24, the party announced a three-day mass contact and leaflet distribution programme beginning from Tuesday. The programme was supposed to end today (Thursday).</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;BNP along with nearly three dozen opposition political parties have been carrying out a simultaneous movement since December 10 last year to force the current government to quit and hold the 12th parliamentary election under a non-party neutral administration.</div><div><br></div><div>BNP’s movement lost its momentum following clashes with law enforcers centring the party’s grand rally on October 28 as many senior leaders, including its secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, were arrested while many others went into hiding in the face of a crackdown by the law enforcers.</div><div><br></div><div>However, BNP and like-minded parties enforced countrywide blockades for 23 days in 12 phases and hartals for five days in four spells since October 29.</div><div><br></div><div>Finally, the opposition party came up with the call for a non-cooperation movement on December 20. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>