Bablu now Ershad's spl assistant

In a dramatic move, Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad appointed Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu as his special assistant yesterday, nearly seven months after removing him from the party's secretary general post.

The decision was announced in a press release signed by Sunil Shuvo Roy, Ershad's press secretary, yesterday.

Talking to The Daily Star, Bablu said, "Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad has his trust in me, and the decision has proved it once again. I hope I can serve my party in a better way now.”

According to JP insiders, the move aims at pleasing Ershad's “opponent” group, led by Opposition Leader Raushan Ershad, in the party.

Bablu, a key member of that group, has good relations with the government and it might have prompted Ershad to take the decision, they said.

Talking to The Daily Star, several party leaders said the JP chief always wants to maintain a “balance” within the party. He made Bablu his special assistant to improve his relations with his “opponent” group so that he could run his party in a smoother way.

Party sources said Ershad had wanted to pressurise the “opponent” group after appointing his younger brother GM Quader as party co-chairman in January.

That was why he had removed Bablu as party secretary general later on for opposing Quader's appointment. Ruhul Amin Hawlader then replaced Bablu.  

Following that, the “opponent” group demanded that Raushan, who is also Ershad's wife, be made senior co-chairman of the party and Bablu be reinstated.

Even though Ershad rejected the demands immediately, he on April 27 appointed Raushan as the senior co-chairman, a post that does not even exist in the JP charter.

Meanwhile, after being contacted yesterday, GM Quader, in a text message, said, “I have no knowledge [of Bablu's appointment]. But if the chairman [Ershad] has done it he must have thought it would be helpful to the party.”