Dhaka, Dec. 23 -- The National Citizen Party (NCP) has accused the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami of engaging in a desperate race to absorb the voter base of the inactive Awami League by promising legal reprieves to its members.

During a dialogue on elections hosted by The Daily Star on Tuesday, its Convenor Nahid Islam suggested that these parties are showing "symptoms" of their intent to secure these votes by offering to withdraw criminal cases against those associated with the former ruling party.

During the session, when the issue of inducting Awami League members into the party was raised, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir brushed it aside as a generalisation.

He argued that while isolated cases might occur, the party has...