AL meets today to discuss strategy

Ruling Awami League will hold a series of meetings today to discuss strategy to face opposition movement and upcoming local government polls.

According to party sources, Ganobhavan, the official residence of the Prime Minister and AL supremo Sheikh Hasina has been chosen as the venue for holding three meetings in quick succession starting at 10 this morning.

Meetings of the AL National Committee, Central Working Committee (CWC) and also an extended meeting of the National Committee would be held today in the wake of movement threats from major opposition parties - BNP, Jatiya Party and Jamaat.

The opposition had already put forward a four-point charter of demands giving a 30-day ultimatum ending on February 5 and also given a nation-wide hartal call on January 26 coinciding with the date of submission of nominations for pourashava polls.

Many of the presidents and general secretaries of 70 organisational districts of AL already reached Dhaka yesterday while others are expected to reach today to join the 156-member National Committee meeting. Party sources told The Daily Star that upcoming elections to four city corporations and 143 pourashavas would be on top of the agenda at today's meetings as the major opposition parties had already rejected the schedules of the polls.

Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to preside over the meetings. Beginning at 10 in the morning the National Committee meeting is likely to continue till lunch break. Then an extended meeting of the National Committee would be held in the afternoon.

AL Central Working Committee would sit at the end of the day to summarise the essence of the earlier meetings and then decide next course of actions in coming days, sources said.