Senior leaders of main opposition BNP has attributed their apparent “failure” in the country's political arena to the influence of people with little or no political background on their chairperson Khaleda Zia. They also vented frustration on her recent move to take the hardline, which they say was influenced by ally Jamaat-e-Islami and Islamist platform Hefazat-e-Islam.
They believe BNP is being pushed to an awkward corner politically due to her recent statements including army’s possible intervention in the country’s critical period, support for Hefazat’s programmes, and ultimatum to the government to realise the demand for restoration of caretaker government system as the party failed to cash on all these issues.
The BNP veterans blamed the increasing distance between Khaleda and party policy-makers on the intervention of “non-political” people in the party matters. These “non-politicians” are Nagorik Odhikar Rakhya Committee Convener Farhad Mazhar, Khaleda's special personal secretary Shamsur Rahman Shimul Bishwas, adviser Ruhul Alam Chowdhury, chief coordinator of her security force Fazle Elahi Akbar, press secretary Maruf Kamal Khan and former bureaucrat Sabihuddin Ahmed.
They claimed non-politicians are running the party and the suggestions of those with political backgrounds are being ignored in the process. They believe these issues are pushing BNP towards an awkward situation and caused the fall of the party from its driving seat in the negotiations with the government.
After Khaleda’s statement about the army intervention, the party's acting secretary general, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, had to clarify her stance and claimed she was misquoted by the media, causing embarrassment.
Alleging that Jamaat was pressuring BNP to take the hardline earlier than it had planned, the policymaking-level leaders said Khaleda's repeated public calls to take to the street, at a time when party men are not ready, is forcing the senior leaders to ignore the calls and further increase the divide.
They claimed that Khaleda Zia took the hardline after her return from Singapore without any discussion with them and is relying on non-political men, specially her personal staff.
Farhad Mazhar held an hour-long meeting with BNP chairperson on March 30 at her Gulshan office. The next day Khaleda addressed a press conference terming the then ongoing violence as “genocide.” She urged the government to stop “mass killing” during the spates of violence that broke out just after the death sentence was handed to a Jamaat leader for crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.
Farhad on April 3, just a few days before Hefazat's long-march, urged the government not to obstruct the programme and accept their demands. He also urged the government to arrange for food and accommodation for the demonstrators.
Party leaders said that BNP's direct support to the Hefazat programme was a mistake and this pushed them backward.
“We should not be trapped by Jamaat’s propaganda. Hefazat was a creation of Jamaat and we simply fell for it. The international community did not see the support in a good way,” a senior leader said, preferring to remain unnamed.
He also said Awami League would use this issue and put up a show for the international community that they have the capacity to evict militancy from the country while BNP would shelter militants and turn it into a militant state. “It is really a huge setback for the party.”
Farhad Mazhar held an hour-long meeting with Khaleda on May 5 when Hefazat men took position at the Shapla Chattar for realisation of their 13-point demand charter. After the meeting, she called on the Dhaka city residents to support the programme and provide demonstrators with food and water. However, even BNP leaders and activists did not respond to the call.
A BNP standing committee member, requesting anonymity, said: “We waited in the meeting room, but madam [Khaleda] was late. We later found out that she was in a meeting with Farhad Mazhar. If she finalises programme consulting with non-politicians then what is the use of party leaders.”
He also said the chairperson’s personal staff are also very influential and that recommendations by members of the standing committee, the highest policymaking forum of the party, is often ignored during decision making to accommodate their suggestions.
Another senior leader said: “When madam consults with us on political issues, she seems convinced but after leaving the office, the programmes change. We actually do not know who is doing this.”
He also said the chairperson’s recent remarks, especially supporting Hefazat’s programme and to call the city dwellers to stand beside Hefazat men, cornered the party and created an image crisis. The leader also said giving 48-hour ultimatum to the government was not a wise decision.
“Awami League successfully handled the issue and pushed us back as we failed to cash on Hefazat’s programme,” he said adding that the standing committee members could not avert the responsibility as they made the decision of an ultimatum.
“But the decision for the 48-hour ultimatum was taken on the dais when the non-political parties pressed Khaleda Zia to go for a sit-in programme,” he said.
On May 4, during the opposition’s meeting, immediately before Khaleda took the stage, the party’s top tier along with her personal staff and leaders of associate wings, were contemplating a sit-in programme at the venue. However, the veteran political leaders opposed the idea.
Many senior leaders including Khaleda herself cannot trust some policymakers like Sadeque Hossain Khoka and Moudud Ahmed. These two leaders have huge influence on the party but also maintain good ties with the government.
They also said the Bengali daily, Amar Desh, has its own agenda as two of its owners are directly involved with Jamaat’s politics.
