(Updates after Hasina meets president, adds quotes and byline) By Nizam Ahmed DHAKA, Dec 2 (Reuters) - President Iajuddin Ahmed met with the leaders of Bangladesh's two main political parties on Saturday to discuss a deepening political crisis ahead of parliamentary elections in January. Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Begum Khaleda Zia met the president first followed by the head of the Awami League Sheikh Hasina, a spokesman for the presidential palace said. "Khaleda Zia has urged the president to take strong steps to hold the election on schedule and ensure that Awami League and its allies withdraw planned transport blockade to restore order," Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, secretary general of BNP told a news conference. "Sheikh Hasina demanded restructuring of the election commission and updating of flawed voters list," Abdul Jalil, general secretary of Awami League, told reporters, adding "the planned blockade will continue untill the demands are met." A decision from the presidential palace over the meetings and the political impasse is expected on Sunday after examining opinions of the rival leaders, officials said. Khaleda and Hasina were invited by the state president, who heads an interim government in charge of conducting the polls. The two women, who have ruled the country by turn for the last 15 years, have not spoken to each other for about 10 years. Iajuddin's invitation came a day before a transport blockade that is likely to paralyse much of the country -- the third in three weeks. Previous blockades have often been violent and at least 40 people have been killed in fighting between rival groups since Khaleda ended a five-year term as prime minister in October. The warring party leaders are crossing swords over Bangladesh's Election Commission, which has set a voting date for January 21. The constitution says a new election must be held within three months of the end of the previous government's tenure. Khaleda ended her five-year tenure as prime minister late in October, handing power to the caretaker administration. Hasina, chief of Awami League, rejected the poll date and related schedules, saying they were announced in haste. She also has said voter lists were riddled with false names. A U.S.-based election monitor said the voter list in the country of 137 million people contains 12.2 million false names. (Additional reporting by Anis Ahmed and Masud Karim)) (Editing by Michael Roddy; Reuters Messaging: anis.ahmed.reuters.com@reuters.net; +880-2-8614088))
