A total of 2,034 candidates have been finalized to compete in the upcoming 13th National Parliament Election and the Referendum, which is scheduled for February 12.

According to Director of the National Identity Registration Wing of the Election Commission (EC) Md Saiful Islam, the pool of contestants includes 275 independent candidates.

This election marks a highly competitive landscape with 51 political parties participating across 300 constituencies nationwide.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leads the field with the highest number of nominees, fielding 291 candidates under the "sheaf of paddy" symbol.

Following closely is Islami Andolon Bangladesh with 258 contestants running with the "hand fan" symbol, while Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has nominated 229 candidates under the "scale" symbol.

The Jatiya Party has fielded 198 candidates with the "plough" symbol and the National Citizen Party (NCP) is participating with 32 candidates using the "water lily bud" symbol.

Among the independent contenders, 76 have been allocated the "football" symbol.

The Election Commission further noted significant variation in candidate density across constituencies, with Dhaka-12 featuring the highest competition with 15 candidates, while Pirojpur-1 has the fewest with only two contestants.

These final figures set the stage for a major democratic exercise as the country prepares for both a parliamentary vote and a pivotal constitutional referendum this Thursday.