The BNP-led opposition alliance has called a countrywide seven-hour hartal beginning at 6 am on January 3 to protest holding of Chittagong City Corporation polls.

The decision to call the new year's first hartal was taken at a meeting of the Liaison Committee yesterday at 29 Minto Road, the official residence of the Leader of the Opposition in parliament, with BNP vice chairman M Shamsul Islam MP in the chair.

The Chittagong unit of the opposition alliance has already called two-day hartal on January 2-3 to protest as well as to resist the CCC polls. The polls will be held on January 3.

Meanwhile, Mayor A B M Mohiuddin Chowdhury has been re-elected unopposed as other candidates withdrew their candidature. Now the polls will be held only for the ward commissioners.

The liaison committee meeting said the seven-hour hartal is called to support the resistance built by the people of Chittagong. The people would intensify the current movement and give a befitting reply to the government as it has resorted to a reign of terror in the name of CCC polls, it hoped.

The meeting was attended by BNP leader Anwar Zahid, JP leaders ABM Golam Mostafa, Mostafa Jamal Haider and Shah Mohammad Abu Zafar, Jamaat leaders Abdul Qader Mollah and ATM Azharul Islam and IOJ leaders Fazlul Haq Amini, Masud Khan and Muslehuddin Abu Bakar.

Meanwhile, a joint meeting of BNP's national executive committee, front organisations and its city committee yesterday decided to make the January 3 hartal a success. BNP secretary general Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan presided over the meeting at 29 Minto Road. The meeting protested the arrest of city BNP leader and DCC ward commissioner Chowdhury Alam and demanded his immediate release.

BNP leaders Abdullah Al Noman, Selima Rahman, Begum Ahsanullah, Mahbubul Alam Tara, Amanullah Aman MP, Shamsuzzaman Dudu MP, Barkatullah Bhulu MP, Abdus Salam, Major (Retd) Abdul Mannan, Sirajul Islam Selim, Kabir Murad and Naim Jahangir attended the meeting.