At the secretaries general level meeting, the BNP-led coalition however seemed to have softened its stance on the reconstitution of the Election Commission (EC), meeting sources said.

Jamaat-e-Islami, a key component of the alliance, remained opposed to compromising on any of the issues relating to Justice KM Hasan and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) MA Aziz.

BNP Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan said that the people want the government side to make concessions on some major issues to avert confrontation, added the sources.

The other partners of the alliance except Jamaat supported Bhuiyan's view during the meeting at LGRD and cooperatives minister's official residence on Bailey Road.

A source within the party however said the BNP secretary general at the dialogue may give the AL general secretary the option to compromise between the issues of Justice Hasan and the EC reconstitution.

Meanwhile, policymakers of the ruling party are still considering handing over power to Justice KM Hasan after October 27 despite the opposition's threat to make Hasan-led administration unable to function.

BNP sources said the party high command do not want AL to be in the driving seat by conceding their demands at the ongoing dialogue. So, they want to drag out the dialogue till the last day of their tenure to keep things under their control.

Jamaat Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid at the meeting said any decision at the talks between the BNP and AL will have to be conforming to the current provisions of the constitution.

Meeting sources said Mannan Bhuiyan updated the secretaries general of four parties on the developments in the crucial talks over the reform issue.

He told the coalition leaders that the AL general secretary wants the issue of Justice KM Hasan and MA Aziz to be settled first. Now they [BNP] are reviewing if the demand is constitutionally viable, he added.

During the meeting, Bhuiyan talked to the prime minister over telephone.

Rejecting the AL's demand concerning the chief adviser and CEC, Jamaat said there is no scope to do anything outside the constitution.

"Most of the reform proposals have been taken care of by the constitution and the electoral laws and the crisis too should be resolved in line with the constitution," Mujahid told journalists after the one-and-a-half-hour meeting.

When asked what will be Jamaat's position, if the secretaries general of the ruling and opposition parties reach a consensus at the dialogue, the Jamaat leader said, "As the prime minister has already said, no decision will be taken without consulting the coalition partners."

WALKOUT
Abdur Rouf Yousufi, secretary general of a faction of IOJ led by Azizul Haque, walked out of the meeting of the four-party secretaries general, protesting participation of Ahmed Abdul Quader, secretary general of another IOJ faction.

Emerging from the meeting, Rouf told reporters, "I attended the meeting upon invitation from the BNP secretary general but Ahmed Abdul Quader, secretary general of the Oikya Jote led by Emdadul Haque Araihajari, also attended the meeting. So, I have boycotted the meeting.

"If a single leader of that faction takes part in the meeting of the four-party alliance leaders, we will continue to boycott it," he said.

Presided over by Mannan Bhuiyan, Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, BJP Secretary General Saifur Rahman, ABM Golam Mostafa, secretary general of BJP faction led by MA Matin, and secretary general of IOJ (Amini) faction Abdul Latif Nezami also attended the meeting.