Declaring a new party presidium, LDP President Prof AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury claimed that they are the real LDP and Col (retd) Oli Ahmed, former Speaker Sheikh Razzak Ali and 11 others are no more in the party.

On the other hand, LDP Executive President Oli Ahmed also claimed that they are the majority in the party as 12 of the 15 presidium members are with him.

"We formed the LDP...They [Badruddoza Chowdhury and others] joined the LDP leaving Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh," Oli told The Daily Star.

Abolishing the LDP's 15-member presidium, Badruddoza declared an 11-member presidium from a press briefing at the KC Memorial Clinic at Baridhara in the city.

The new presidium members are ex officio Prof Badruddoza and Major (retd) MA Mannan, Maj Gen (retd) MA Halim, Brig Gen (retd) Giasuddin Ahmed, Arshaduzzaman, Mohammad Abdullah, Dr Abdul Mannan, Prof Nurul Amin Bepari, Arif Mainuddin, Joynul Abedin and MA Mukit Khan.

Mahi B Chowdhury refused to accept the post of presidium member saying he is engaged with a non-party reform initiative.

Acknowledging the division in the party, Badruddoza said at the press briefing, "We are not responsible for the split...77 of the 100 national executive committee members [of the party] are with us. We are the real LDP."

Brushing aside Oli's claim that Badruddoza and his followers are not in the party any more, he said, "The real party is where the party president and secretary general are."

On Oli's allegation that Badruddoza did not practise democracy and did not support joint leadership in the party, Badruddoza said, "The allegations are motivated."

He raised counter allegation against Oli for "playing hide and seek" while naming the party and for "dividing the country".

"The party constitution he [Oli] had formulated was against the spirit of our constitution," Badruddoza said, adding, "Colonel Oli planned to divide the country into 11 provinces."

LDP Secretary General Mannan described what Oli told about them as "very unfortunate". "When I went to his house on Tuesday to minimise difference between Prof Badruddoza and him, he proposed me to join with him," Mannan said.

"If you do not join with me, you will not get the taste of power," Mannan told reporters quoting Oli.

Showing documents Mahi said, "When Colonel Oli went to the Election Commission for naming the party, he named it 'Liveral Democratic Party', not Liberal Democratic Party."

When contacted for his comments on this, Oli told The Daily Star that it was a typo and "not a big thing". "If anyone makes a mistake while writing his father's name, his father does not change," he said.

The LDP executive president on Tuesday night claimed that Badruddoza and Mannan had quit the party. The surprising announcement came at a press conference at LDP Presidium Member MA Zinnah's Gulshan residence.

Former president Prof Badruddoza formed Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh on March 10, 2004, but he abolished the party to form the LDP on October 26, 2006 with Oli Ahmed and a few other BNP leaders who left the BNP.