Dhaka, Jan. 1 -- BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed on Thursday said there is no legal scope to suspend or defer the election following the death of BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia.

"There is no legal scope to defer the election. Since our party has nominated alternative candidates for the seats allocated to her, they will become the BNP candidates if their nominations pass scrutiny," he said while talking to reporters at the party chairperson's Gulshan office.

Explaining the legal position, Salahuddin said if the BNP chief had died after the scrutiny of nominations or the allocation of election symbols, legal complications could have arisen and the question of postponement might have come up.

"B...