A month after the exit of former Party Party secretary general Mashiur Rahman Ranga, his aides and followers expressed allegiance to Chairman GM Quader MP during the council of its Rangpur metropolitan unit that saw a mammoth crowd after five years on Tuesday.
The entire area, including Shaheed Minar and Town Hall, was full of leaders and workers joining from all the 33 wards of Rangpur, the country's second-largest city corporation with an area of 200 square kilometres. On this occasion, the city was decorated with banners and festoons. Various colourful vehicles, including trucks, were arranged to bring workers to the venue.
Many top leaders, including Secretary General Mujibul Haque Chunnu MP, Senior Co-Chairman Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud and Additional Secretary General Bashtiar Shamim Haider Patwari MP, joined the council.
After the council, GM Quader's confidant City Mayor Mostafizar Rahman Mostafa was declared president of the metropolitan unit and SM Yasir was made general secretary. The central leaders did not mention Ranga's name in their speeches.
On the other hand, leaders known as Ranga's supporters took part in the council, chanting slogans against him to welcome the party's decision to relieve him from all positions.
Significance of the gathering
According to party sources, the JaPa high command was worried about holding the council in Rangpur, considering Ranga's influence. So they held meetings and campaigns to ensure a massive presence of party supporters during the council. After Ranga's expulsion on September 14, his dominance in the metropolitan unit started diminishing.
Ranga has been in hot water since 2020, and the conflict worsened after the party's Chief Patron and Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Raushan Ershad on August 31 convened the party's national council on November 26. A day later, JaPa Parliamentary Party requested Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury to make GM Quader the leader of the opposition. In a statement on September 2, he said a third force was trying to implement an agenda using the name of Raushon, who has been in Singapore for treatment for over a year. On September 21, Raushon instructed the party chairman to include all removed, expelled, and left out leaders and activists to the party.
Ranga was made secretary general of the party on December 3, 2018. After Ershad's death, GM Quader made party co-chairman Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu its secretary general on July 26, 2020. Chunnu was appointed secretary general on October 10 last year after Bablu's death.
During Tuesday's council, slogans were chanted against Ranga, while GM Quader, a critic of the government vowing to contest the next general elections outside any alliance, warned against conspirators in his speech at the rally on Public Library grounds.
At a recent meeting, he said that the country's ordinary people were unable to meet their basic needs. "On the other hand, some are smuggling thousands of crores of taka abroad," he said. “The people do not have food, clothing, education, medical care, and shelter…they do not have the basic rights.”
In his speech, Chunnu reminded the BNP of how it had barred the opposition Awami League and JaPa from holding rallies and processions from 1991 to 1996. “They beat us with sticks, and now they are being baton-charged by the police.”
Opposition party BNP is preparing to hold its divisional rally scheduled for Saturday. The central leaders are campaigning in the districts under Rangpur division to engage its grassroots and make the rally successful. The rally venue has not been decided yet, but the authorities have given permission informally to use the Collectorate Eidgah grounds.
Earlier, the BNP organized rallies in Chittagong, Mymensingh and Khulna divisions on several demands, including the release of party Chairperson Khaleda Zia and protesting the price hike of essentials.
GM Quader gains a foothold
Ranga's long-time supporter district unit President Abul Masud Chowdhury Nantu, a valiant Freedom Fighter, General Secretary Abdur Razzak, youth leader Md Nazim, and most of his followers directly attended the council, expressing solidarity with GM Quader and giving speeches in his support.
During the council, a huge procession attracted the attention of many. It was led by Jubo Sanghati President Zakir Hossain, popularly known as the PS of Ranga.
Abdul Mannan, and 4/5 others who are known to be supporters of Ranga, were not seen at the council. In the morning, when GM Quader and other central leaders visited the grave of party founder General HM Ershad in the Darshan area of the city, some of Ranga's followers were seen there with them.
Bolstered by the flood of party supporters, GM Quader said that the people of Rangpur region always supported the Jatiya Party.
“HM Ershad was unjustly imprisoned after coming to power and his nomination was cancelled. The people of Rangpur got united, besieged the DC's house, and forced the administration to declare the nomination valid. He created history around the world by winning five seats. The Jatiya Party will once again win all the seats in the northern region, including Rangpur.”