Photo: Messenger
Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) Senior Vice Chairman Tarique Rahman and Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir are poised to lose the leadership roles of the country’s largest opposition party due to a series of failures in preventing the three last national elections on the trot.
Many of the party’s top leaders have already expressed no confidence in them, a sentiment that has also been conveyed to BNP’s jailed chairperson Khaleda Zia.
Party insiders are of the view that those who praised Tarique Rahman before the last election are now questioning his leadership. In particular, the issue of whether the party can be managed from abroad has given rise to fierce criticism among the party’s leaders and activists at all levels. According to several reliable sources within BNP, in a video conference with the party’s policy-making circles, Tarique Rahman himself said that he is willing to step down from the post of the party if necessary.
Meanwhile, no diplomat is holding any formal meetings with any policymakers of BNP. Currently, no BNP leader knows the plan of BNP or the path they want to take. Essentially, Tarique Rahman’s wishes still hold the final say in the party. As a result, Tarique Rahman is now under fire both at home and abroad.
Several top leaders of the party told The Daily Messenger that Tarique Rahman’s authority began to be established in the party instead of Khaleda Zia after 2005. At that time, many senior leaders of the party did not accept the matter well. However, they did not talk about it publicly. Still, many who could not agree with Tarique’s short-sighted thinking left the party.
After 2016, questions started to arise from various quarters about the role of Tarique Rahman in BNP, which has now taken a terrible form. Notably, after the January 7 elections, the top BNP leaders have split into two factions. One side wants to follow Tarique’s opinion and advice to move forward in the way the team is going. This team includes Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Nazrul Islam Khan, Mirza Abbas, Selima Ahmed, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, and some others.
Another side is outright refusing to accept Tarique’s leadership, citing Tarique’s failure in the last decade and a half as the reason. Party leaders like Dr. Abdul Moin Khan and Zainul Abdin Faruq are in this group, the sources said. However, they have not yet spoken publicly about the matter to the media.
However, there is a debate on the role of the party’s general secretary, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, from the grassroots level to the top level, everywhere. His role has been questioned since the movement-struggle before the national elections. There have even been accusations of his association with the ruling party at various times.
A member of the BNP standing committee, who did not wish to be named, told The Daily Messenger that there has been no national conference of the BNP since 2016. This cannot be a normal occurrence in a democratic party. Basically, Mirza Fakhrul Islam never took the initiative to hold his position. The anti-government movement would have gained more momentum if new leadership came through the conference. In that case, the situation could have changed.
Another member of the party’s standing committee said that Mirza Fakhrul basically worked as a spokesman for Tarique Rahman. He has no role of his own in the party. Like a wooden puppet, he just obeys commands. Tarique Rahman imposed various unrealistic decisions while sitting in London, none of which has benefited the party to date. As a result, there is no alternative to a quick conference to strengthen the party in this situation.
Advisor to BNP Chairperson Zainul Abdin Faruq told The Daily Messenger, “Being out of power for more than 17 years, there have been some problems in the leadership of the party due to various adversities. Within a few days, there will be a change in leadership at various levels of the party, especially the executive committee and standing committee.”
Meanwhile, after the January 7 election, the BNP has come under pressure from the international community as well. America, which had been supporting BNP in various ways in the name of restoring democracy, has now moved away from BNP. In particular, the countries of the Western world, including the United States, are no longer speaking for the BNP. Rather, they are emphasising the issue of developing relations with the newly-formed Awami League government.
India has also consistently taken a stand against Tarique. In this situation, some countries have suggested removing Tarique from the leadership, arguing that a convicted person running the party from abroad cannot be compatible with democratic spirit.
According to several sources within BNP, various diplomats have proposed removing Tarique Rahman from the leadership. They said BNP should now elect someone with a clean image as a party leader who will lead the party from the front in the country. India also made such a proposal to BNP six years ago. At that time, India made it clear that if Tarique Rahman is not removed from the leadership, it is not possible for them to develop relations with BNP in any way.
A top leader of BNP, who did not want to be named, told The Daily Messenger that once anyone spoke against Tarique Rahman, they were expelled from the party. Besides, various slanders were also used against them. But now there is no fear of losing anyone. Those who love the party will not tolerate any individual’s tyranny. The party will now run at its own pace in a democratic manner.
A member of the highest policy-making forum, the standing committee of BNP, Abdul Moin Khan told The Daily Messenger, “The party council could not be held at the scheduled time due to government repression. Vacancies in the party will be filled through elections in a democratic process.”
Messenger/Disha
