Dhaka, Dec. 23 -- What began as a tense standoff over seat sharing between the BNP and its allies is now giving way to cautious optimism, as leaders are signalling that a breakthrough has been reached, paving the way for a united front ahead of the election after days of behind-the-scenes negotiations.

Talking to UNB, senior BNP and alliance leaders said negotiations over seat sharing have been concluded and a workable compromise has been reached.

They, however, said a major challenge now facing BNP is how to manage internal party resistance in constituencies that may be shared or given up for allies.

Though BNP has already finalised the seats it will share, the party has not officially disclosed how many seats it will leave for its pa...