Dhaka, Dec. 25 -- Nagorik Oikya President Mahmudur Rahman Manna has been barred from contesting the upcoming national election after the High Court rejected his writ petition seeking removal of his name from Bangladesh Bank's loan defaulters list.

The ruling directly affects the BNP's recently announced seat-sharing arrangement, under which the party had decided not to nominate any candidate in Bogura-2, allowing Manna to contest the seat using his own party's symbol.

A High Court bench comprising Justice Md Bazlur Rahman and Justice Md Monjur Alam passed the order on Wednesday following a preliminary hearing.

The court rejected the writ that sought directions to exclude Manna's name from the central bank's list of defaulted borrowers....