BNP not ready for anti-govt agitation

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has tried and failed to overhaul her party in the last nine months, mainly because of intra-party feuds at central and local levels and lack of commitment of leaders.

As a result, she had to repeatedly postpone her plans for anti-government protests, and she is frustrated about this, party sources say.

The process to reorganise the party has virtually stopped in all its 75 district units, as leaders continue to fight among themselves over formation of new committees.

The overhaul efforts were aimed to strengthen the grassroots demoralised after the January 5 one-sided elections, and to boost their morale for anti-government protests, insiders said.

After the polls boycotted by the BNP-led alliance and most other political parties, Khaleda at a crowded press conference on January 15 said she would announce a fresh movement to force the Sheikh Hasina administration to hold an election under a nonparty caretaker government, after reorganising the party.

BNP sources said most of their district units were being run by expired committees. Besides, nearly half of those are being run by convening committees.

In Manikganj, for example, the present convening committee was formed 17 years ago. A regular committee could not be formed in the district, as the party high-ups failed to resolve conflicts among the rival groups, they added.

The unit in Chittagong district, the second most important unit after the one in the capital, is also being run by the convening committee for over five years.

“In the absence of a full-fledged committee, party activities lose stream, because dedicated leaders and activists do not feel encouraged to take risks,” said a BNP leader in the port city.

In August, the BNP chief assigned 42 of her party leaders to visit organisational districts to resolve internal feuds. A number of those leaders told this correspondent that they failed to do much in this regard.

Khaleda has also failed to reorganise any of the nine front organisations of her party.

The BNP has also two associate bodies -- Jatiayatabadi Chhatra Dal and Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal.

Of them, Sramik Dal was reorganised in May through its council. But selection of its new leaders triggered criticisms and controversies within the party due to their poor performance in previous movements.

In September, a section of Sramik Dal leaders announced a fresh committee, saying some BNP leaders had formed the previous committee in exchange for money.

Earlier in July, Khaleda announced a 56-member Dhaka city convening committee with Mirza Abbas and Habib-un-Nabi Sohel as convener and member secretary. She also asked her party's city chapter to complete formation of all ward and thana committees in two months.

It took more than two weeks for the committee to start working due to conflicts between Abbas and Sohel.

Then, after one and a half months, Abbas in September said it was not possible for them to complete formation of all ward and thana committees in a month.

So far, the convening committee has formed about 40 of the 100 city ward committees.

Party insiders said Khaleda was deeply disappointed at this.

Still, she announced launching of a “tougher movement” after Eid-ul-Fitr in July and then after Eid-ul-Azha (observed on Monday) only to keep the party morale high.

Asked, BNP acting secretary general Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said on Wednesday that his party was already in the middle of a movement and that every movement had its ups and downs.