Finance Minister and senior BNP leader M Saifur Rahman said Thursday BNP might have to suffer in the long run if Jatiya Party led by Hussain Mohammad Ershad joins the four-party alliance, reports UNB. "It's difficult to say… it may be good for a short while though," he told reporters at his office, replying to a question on how he evaluates joining of Ershad with the alliance led by BNP. The BNP Standing Committee member expressed his confidence that the 4-party alliance would win the elections and return to power because the alliance government has done many good works. Replying to another ques tion, Saifur said: "Everybody tells me to contest in the election… wherever I go, at home and abroad, they ask me to contest the polls." He said the reform programmes now underway in the country needs to continue to reduce poverty while regulatory institutions like the Anti-Corruption Commission and Tax Ombudsman would have to be strengthened to accelerate the pace of development. The Finance Minister said poverty declined by 1.5 per cent annually over the last five years of the present government in comparison to one per cent during the previous five years.
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