BNP in dilemma over leadership
Thursday, 23 April 2009
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of opposition leader Khaleda Zia, which had ruled the country for several terms since the 1975 changeover, appears to be caught in a quandary over leadership choices trying to regroup following two-pronged shocks from the January 11 changeover and December 29 poll debacle, reports UNB.
Grouping, lobbying and counter-lobbying for leadership in different echelons gave the look of a rat race, putting the party in disarray at this crucial hour.
According to political critics, despite it being an important and sensitive issue, the BNP and its front organisations could not mobilise satisfactory number of party men and people in a series of protest rallies against the April 8 cabinet decision cancelling the lease allocation of Khaleda's Dhaka cantonment residence.
However, it was learnt that the party chief called in former Dhaka city BNP president Sadeq Hossain Khoka Monday, the day notice was served to Begum Zia to vacate her residence, and asked him to organise Wednesday's BNP rally at Muktangon. Khaleda directed party's all concerned to work together for a comeback.
The latest lobbying goes on in full swing over how to capture the posts of new convener of BNP district units. The cards are now on the table before the standing committee, the highest policymaking body, and the stakes will be announced "soon", party-insiders said.
Party's rank and file set their sights on the positions of district chief. Councils of all tiers from union to district levels have to be accomplished within stipulated time ahead of the BNP's upcoming national council in the reorganising process.
The BNP high command has declared 2009 as the organisational year to revamp the party which was shattered following the 1/11 crackdown and emergence of reformists from inside the party ranks.
As a part of the recast step, the first phase of reorganisation process started through holding month-long opinion-exchange-meetings in February last with the grassroots level leaders covering upazila, thana and pourashavas units of the party.
The six teams of the six divisions with two senior leaders assigned in each team conducted the consultations with grassroots to know their opinions on certain points including reasons of the disaster in December 29 election and to solicit their suggestions how to revamp the party.
Almost all the field-level leaders strongly suggested inducting clean faces, competent and honest leaders into all tiers of the BNP. They also suggested three names for the post of convenor of district committees. They expressed reservations about leaders who were corrupt and those who were suffering from image crisis.
The team leaders have submitted their reports on the outcome of consultations to BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia. A four-member special subcommittee of the standing committee headed by Khaleda had reviewed the reports and constituted the new convening committees for all the district units by dissolving the near-dysfunctional old ones.
Towards the end of the two-year rule of the military-backed caretaker government, the rank and file of BNP and its front organizations, irrespective of their role and fate destined during the interim period, have been carrying out multifarious efforts either to retain or get reinstated or occupy positions in the party.
The party's leaders and activists were already branded as tested, honest, corrupt, reformist, opportunist and collaborators of the caretaker government through their activities during the emergency period when the party chief and ex-PM, her family members and other leaders were thrown behind bars amid an anti-graft drive.
Grouping, lobbying and counter-lobbying for leadership in different echelons gave the look of a rat race, putting the party in disarray at this crucial hour.
According to political critics, despite it being an important and sensitive issue, the BNP and its front organisations could not mobilise satisfactory number of party men and people in a series of protest rallies against the April 8 cabinet decision cancelling the lease allocation of Khaleda's Dhaka cantonment residence.
However, it was learnt that the party chief called in former Dhaka city BNP president Sadeq Hossain Khoka Monday, the day notice was served to Begum Zia to vacate her residence, and asked him to organise Wednesday's BNP rally at Muktangon. Khaleda directed party's all concerned to work together for a comeback.
The latest lobbying goes on in full swing over how to capture the posts of new convener of BNP district units. The cards are now on the table before the standing committee, the highest policymaking body, and the stakes will be announced "soon", party-insiders said.
Party's rank and file set their sights on the positions of district chief. Councils of all tiers from union to district levels have to be accomplished within stipulated time ahead of the BNP's upcoming national council in the reorganising process.
The BNP high command has declared 2009 as the organisational year to revamp the party which was shattered following the 1/11 crackdown and emergence of reformists from inside the party ranks.
As a part of the recast step, the first phase of reorganisation process started through holding month-long opinion-exchange-meetings in February last with the grassroots level leaders covering upazila, thana and pourashavas units of the party.
The six teams of the six divisions with two senior leaders assigned in each team conducted the consultations with grassroots to know their opinions on certain points including reasons of the disaster in December 29 election and to solicit their suggestions how to revamp the party.
Almost all the field-level leaders strongly suggested inducting clean faces, competent and honest leaders into all tiers of the BNP. They also suggested three names for the post of convenor of district committees. They expressed reservations about leaders who were corrupt and those who were suffering from image crisis.
The team leaders have submitted their reports on the outcome of consultations to BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia. A four-member special subcommittee of the standing committee headed by Khaleda had reviewed the reports and constituted the new convening committees for all the district units by dissolving the near-dysfunctional old ones.
Towards the end of the two-year rule of the military-backed caretaker government, the rank and file of BNP and its front organizations, irrespective of their role and fate destined during the interim period, have been carrying out multifarious efforts either to retain or get reinstated or occupy positions in the party.
The party's leaders and activists were already branded as tested, honest, corrupt, reformist, opportunist and collaborators of the caretaker government through their activities during the emergency period when the party chief and ex-PM, her family members and other leaders were thrown behind bars amid an anti-graft drive.