Bickering over leadership has put the Bangladesh Nationalist Party into a quagmire as the party has been running its activities with the leaders of the date-expired national committee for years, raising a sense of frustration among the aspirants for different vital posts.
Aspirants allege that a kind of indiscipline marked a sharp rise in the party as it has failed to bring a necessary reform in the party following its massive failure to foil the last parliamentary polls even after its boycott.
Insiders say that a sense of mistrust and division is developing among the leaders and activists who have not been rewarded despite their contributions. The frustration was reflected when the party took to the street with several programmes after the January 7 elections. The presence of the leaders and activists were poor in those programmes.
The BNP, which faced a humiliating defeat in the 11th parliamentary polls, even failed to reorganise the party after its failure to foil the January 7 polls. As a result, a large number of grassroots leaders contested the recently held staggered Upazila Parishad polls defying the directives of the top brass.
Insiders say that the party, which remains out of power since 2007, will soon go for the reform by inducting fresh blood in vital posts to rejuvenate the party activities to face the upcoming political challenges.
BNP leaders say that they can hold the council session anytime if a healthy political environment prevails in the country.
During a recent meeting of the standing committee, held last week virtually with BNP acting chairperson Tarique Rahman in the chair, the issue of holding the council session was discussed. Meeting
sources said, BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed raised the issue before the meeting.
The BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir supported the proposal saying that it is the right time to hold the council session.
BNP acting chairperson Tarique Rahman also supported their speeches. But the meeting did not fix the date for the council session.
BNP standing committee member Selima Rahman said that they have a plan to hold the council session.
“We will hold it at an appropriate time,” she said.
Over the reformation of the party, she said it is a continuous process.
“Some vacant posts have already been filled up and the rest of the post will also be filled up timely,” he said.
Record shows that several vital posts of the standing committee, the highest policy making body of the party, remains vacant for years while some senior leaders remain inactive in party activities due to their poor health condition.
The BNP website shows that out of 19-member standing committee body, at least four posts of the highest policy making body, have been lying vacant for years following the death of Barrister Moudud Ahmed, Tariqul Islam, Brig Gen (Rtd) ASM Hannan Shah and MK Anwar while Dr Mosharraf Hossain and Barrister Rafiqul Islam Mia remained inactive on health ground.
It also shows that a large number of posts have remained vacant in the national executive committee.
Insiders say that the party is supposed to hold its national council by every three years. The last council session of the party was held on March 19 in 2016.
Some leaders, on condition of anonymity, said that the top brass had been requested for bringing the necessary reform in the party. But the demand of the leaders has been unheeded, resulting in poor show on the streets.
Many allege that the leaders who have assigned to execute the tasks, still remain in their posts even after their sheer failure.
Sources in the BNP say that a sense of mistrust has developed among the leaders after the last general elections.
Although Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has been discharging responsibilities as the secretary general, he cannot play an effective role, they say.
Some leaders think that the acting chairperson Tarique Rahman is taking decisions based on opinions of junior leaders instead of the standing committee members while another quarters think a section of senior leaders are maintaining relations with the government.
It is learned that a list mentioning the names of active and inactive leaders has already been sent to the acting chairperson Tarique Rahman.
When asked about the council session, BNP organising secretary Abdus Salam Azad blamed the political atmosphere for not holding the council session.
“There has been no leadership crisis in the party as we all have been united under the leadership of Tarique Rahman,” he told the Bangladesh Post.
When asked some posts of the standing committee and nation executive committee remain vacant for years, he said it was a continuous process.
“Some posts have already been filled up while the other posts will be filled up with the span of time,” he said.
