Anwar Hossain Manju, chief of a faction of the Jatiya Party (JP), met with the chief of another faction of JP, HM Ershad, and discussed the nation’s current political situation and a possible merger between the factions, sources at both parties confirmed.
Former secretary general of the undivided Jatiya Party, Manju, who quit the party in the late 1990s and formed his own faction of JP, is now likely to return to the main faction ahead of the next general elections, sources said.
Sources close to Ershad said Manju gave verbal confirmation to the deposed military dictator that he would return and form a united Jatiya Party. The hour-long meeting was held on Friday night.
Ershad’s Jatiya Party presidium member Professor Delwar Hossain Khan said such talks on unity had been taking place for a long period of time. However, he said he was not aware of the recent meeting.
Sources said the major bone of contention between the two old “friends” remained what position Manju would be offered if he came back to the Ershad-led faction of JP, now an ally of the Awami League-led ruling grand alliance.
Manju was interested in the position of co-chairman before he would merge with Ershad’s JP. However, Ershad asked him to return as secretary general, an idea that Manju was not keen on, sources close to both the leaders said.
Meanwhile, most senior leaders of the Ershad-led JP are not happy with the idea of Manju back in the mix. But none are ready to oppose the idea openly.
When contacted, Ershad refused to make any comment on this and Manju could not be reached.
A leader of Manju’s faction of JP said they had discussed the issue at their last extended meeting of the central committee. The meeting also agreed to move forward with the idea of joining with Ershad depending on his proposal.