Dhaka, Dec. 22 -- The southwestern district of Natore, long regarded as a Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) bastion, is emerging as a microcosm of the party's wider electoral challenge.

It is grappling with internal divisions as rival factions clash over party nominations, while facing a sharpened contest from the Jamaat-e-Islami in an Awami League-free field.

Across Natore's four constituencies in the Rajshahi Division, nomination disputes have exposed fissures within the BNP just as campaigning gathers pace for the parliamentary election. While party leaders insist unity will follow once nominations are finalised, the scenes on the ground suggest a more complex reality.

BNP failed to win a single seat in Natore in the 2008 ninth par...