Parishad feud turns BGMEA polls into a triangular fight

For the first time, the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) will witness a triangular fight in the upcoming February 25 election.

Many see it as an opportunity for the Forum led by Anisur Rahman Sinha, who lost the battles in last couple of elections, to grab the Association leadership.

After repeated attempts, garment stalwarts of Sammillita Parishad, currently holding the top BGMEA posts, failed to reach a consensus as to who would vie for the top slot. Their failure finally resulted in two separate panels under the Sammillita Parishad.

Anisur Rahman Sinha of Forum, however, leads the third panel.

The three panels, contesting for the 27-member executive committee, submitted a total of 100 nominations on the last day, yesterday.

Of the 27-member EC posts, seven seats have been reserved for members of Chittagong while the rest for those of Dhaka.

Sammillita Parishad led by Mustafa Gulam Quddus submitted a total of 25 nominations for the Dhaka EC posts and eight more for Chittagong.

Meanwhile, the Sikdar-led Sammillita Parishad submitted 24 nominations for the Dhaka seats and seven for Chittagong.

27 candidates from Anisur Rahman Sinha's Forum are vying for the Dhaka posts while nine will fight for those of Chittagong.

A total of 1992 voters would be able to exercise their franchise to elect the next president, vice-presidents and other EC members. Of the total voters, 1614 are from Dhaka while 378 are from Chittagong.

A feud between the incumbent BGMEA president and the vice-president, both elected from the Sammillita Parishad, created a rift and resulted into the two separate panels.

Nurul Haque Sikdar, the acting Second Vice-President, refused to quit the upcoming leadership battle. Sources said that acting President Mostafa Gulam Quddus had refused to give way to the second vice-president as per his pledge made in earlier elections.

Professor Ali Ashraf, MP, Chairman of the Election Board, would conduct the polls along with two members - Anissuzzaman and Abdul Huq.

Talking to The Daily Star, Anisur Rahman said that he was expecting a sweeping victory "not only because of divisions in the Parishad but also the failure of the present office bearers to fulfil expectations of the community".

"Their works do not reflect their pledges. I think the message is clear to the voters. The voters want to see a change. And we are very optimistic about a complete victory," Anisur Rahman Sinha said.

He also said that he was elected president for three months in 1996. "My previous works will help me reach my target in the coming polls."

When asked, Nurul Haque Sikdar said that people would vote for the deserving candidates. He claimed that his panel also had better candidates than the other two panels.

"It might appear that Sinha has a better chance, but we have the best candidates. People will vote for us," Sikdar added.

Mostafa Gulam Quddus who is leading Sammillita Parishad could not be reached for his comments.

In the last election, the two contesting panels were Forum led by Anisul Haque and backed by Anisur Rahman Sinha and Sammilita Parishad led by MG Quddus.

That time Sammilita Pari-shad had a sweeping victory winning all the posts.

According to the new rules adopted in July last year, all 27 executive committee members will retire and a fresh election will be held to the vacant posts.

The committee will be elected for a two-year term and the panel with 14 seats will choose its office-bearers.