A section of leaders, who have been inactive and allegedly maintained ties with the government to avoid arrests, have begun lobbying to get posts as BNP looks to reorganise.
District-level leaders who were rarely seen during the movements in 2013-14 and earlier this year, now wants to rise to prominence.
According to sources, they have revived ties with the senior leaders and policymaker of the party. Many of them have been crowding the two key command centres – the Gulshan office of Chairperson Khaleda Zia and the party headquarters at Nayapaltan – hoping to project their faces again.
This sudden surge in activities follows Khaleda Zia’s strict decision to not give any important posts to inactive leaders.
In a recent letter sent all across the country, the BNP has asked its grassroots to finish forming local committees by September 30, that too, by leaving out the “failed and inactive leaders” and bringing in the “dedicated and spirited leaders and activists” to the forefront.
“After the reorganising began, leaders and activists became active. In many places, formation of new committees has already started,” said Mohammad Shahjahan, a joint secretary general of the BNP.
“If there is a logical reason for a local chapter failing to form its own committee by the stipulated date [September 30], they will be given extension. Otherwise, the relevant district committee would take over the charge and form a committee for that local chapter,” Shahjahan told the Dhaka Tribune.
Mahbubur Rahman Shamim, a leader of the party’s Chittagong city unit, welcomed the initiative. “It is a good news for the dedicated leaders. Those who sacrificed during the movements would be evaluated. We also want that and it will benefit the party as well,” he said.
According to insiders, a list of dedicated leaders and workers was made after the city corporation polls.
“A central monitoring cell will be formed to oversee the entire process so that no dedicated leaders are not dropped from the committees. Even Khaleda Zia has talked to some district-leaders and activists and gave them some directives in this regard,” said a senior leader seeking anonymity.
Another senior leader said that if any unit wants to hold council, support would be provided from the central command; organising secretaries have been asked to look after that.
BNP chief Khaleda Zia is scheduled to sit in a meeting with 20-party alliance partners at her Gulshan office at 7:30pm today.
