M Saifur Rahman (left), Major (retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed

In a dramatic turn of events, the BNP standing committee in a marathon meeting last night appointed former finance minister M Saifur Rahman as the party's acting chairperson, replaced Khandaker Delwar Hossain with Major (retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed as acting secretary general.

The meeting of the highest decision making body of BNP also disapproved the expulsion of former secretary general Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan.

Whether detained chairperson of the party, Khaleda Zia, approved the decisions could not be known, with Khaleda appointed secretary general Delwar being absent at the meeting due to unknown reasons.

But, briefing reporters in his house after the five-hour long meeting there, Saifur said the BNP top brass agreed that they have faith in Khaleda, and her decision will be unanimously accepted once she is released. He added that the decisions were taken to maintain party unity.

Three other standing committee members also did not attend the meeting, among whom Barrister Moudud Ahmed and Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain are currently in jail, while the reason for Abdul Matin Chowdhury's absence could not be determined.

Saifur also said Delwar was removed from his post in consideration of his poor health, and Khaleda's decision to expel Mannan Bhuiyan and joint secretary general Ashraf Hossain was not approved by the meeting.

Both Delwar and Bhuiyan retained their places in the standing committee by the decision of yesterday's meeting. Earlier, Bhuiyan was expelled and removed from the post of secretary general by Khaleda on the eve of her detention on September 3, after he had spoken out for intra-party reforms.

Major (retd) Hafiz, the newly appointed acting secretary general and a former vice president of the party, has been a Bhuiyan loyalist.

Talking to The Daily Star last night, a cross-section of BNP high-ups welcomed the decisions, as they breathed a sigh of relief that the party has managed to come back from the brink of a near fatal split along the lines of differences on party reforms.

The standing committee also deemed illegal the expulsion of BNP office secretary Mafiqul Hasan Tripti, as the decision had been taken by Delwar, which violates the party's constitution that says only the chairperson may expel a national executive committee member.

Khaleda loyalists Dr RA Gani, and Khandaker Mahbubuddin Ahmed met hitherto rival leaders Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, and Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman, while pro-unity leaders M Shamsul Islam and Tanveer Ahmed Siddiqui were also present along with Saifur Rahman, in his Gulshan residence in the capital.

Khaleda loyalists attended the meeting with visceral unwillingness, and according to sources, big changes are about to come to the party leadership before November 7 the date by which the Election Commission (EC) is supposed to send a letter of invitation to the recognised leadership of the party for an electoral reform dialogue between the two which is scheduled for November 22.

Some people on Sunday night reportedly met Khaleda appointed Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain and put pressure on him to bring the expelled leaders back into the party and asking him to give up his new post as soon as possible.

Delwar however reportedly declined the request saying that he will accept only Khaleda Zia's requests and decisions, who is the chairperson of the party and who appointed him as the secretary general.

Before yesterday's unity meeting in Saifur Rahman's house, pro-Bhuiyan leaders met in Bhuiyan's Gulshan residence and discussed the latest situation of the party including the unity process.

The meeting thought that the party's national standing committee (NSC) has enough power vested on it by the party constitution to scrap the expulsion orders, and it may also select any leader as a new secretary general following Delwar's resignation, according to a meeting source.

After the meeting Bhuiyan told reporters, "We have decided to stop the mud-slinging within the party in an effort to unite the entire organisation."

Election Commissioner Muhammed Sohul Hussain meanwhile told journalists in his office yesterday, "According to the media news it seems that a consensus is emerging among the existing factions of BNP, so we hope that we will get an address for sending the letter of invitation before November 7."

The EC has nothing to do with BNP's inner conflicts, he said adding that whoever will hold the post of the secretary general will get the letter of invitation from the EC.

Delwar, who was appointed as the secretary general on September 3 by Khaleda Zia herself just before her arrest, is also reportedly under pressure to persuade the detained chairperson for giving her consent to the decisions taken by yesterday's unity meeting.

But, Delwar is still intransigent to bow down to the pressure without clear direction from his detained party chief, according to the sources.

Delwar recently however told reporters that only the chairperson has the power to bring back the expelled leaders into the party, and he would suggest the chairperson favourably if she would seek his opinion on the matter.

Earlier yesterday BNP Chairperson's Adviser Brig Gen (retd) Hannan Shah also said that he heard that some leaders were looking for a new secretary general.