BNP’s plans for making a strong comeback to the political scenario may suffer a huge blow if it fails to make sure that its rebel grassroots leaders and those backed by its ally Jamaat do not run against each other in the upcoming upazila parishad polls.
The party is already finding it difficult to convince the Jamaat-e-Islami and the rebel BNP leaders to not run against the candidates that it has backed for the local body polls, due in about 10 days’ time.
In a number of upazilas around the country, the build-up to the upazila polls have been marred by skirmishes among the supporters of the BNP-backed candidates, the rebel leaders and the Jamaat leaders.
A number of central BNP leaders, seeking anonymity, have expressed anxiety over the rift that has recently developed between BNP and its key ally Jamaat-e-Islami surrounding upazila polls.
In more than a dozen upazilas, the BNP-backed candidates are being challenged by both local Jamaat and rebel BNP leaders, in defiance of the alliance decision to ensure single runner for every upazila.
In nearly half of the 98 upazilas, where the first phase elections will take place on February 19, rebel BNP candidates are challenging the party-backed aspirants.
“BNP’s rebel candidates in many upazilas are already a problem for the party. In addition, the Jamaat aspirants in some places are really making things tough for us,” a standing committee member of BNP told the Dhaka Tribune.
However, BNP chairperson’s adviser Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said these were only stray incidents and “no big deals.”
“Local leaders, along with the alliance leaders, are trying to sort out the problems and finalise single candidates,” Khosru told the Dhaka Tribune.
BNP’s Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi echoed Khosru adding that a monitoring cell had already been formed to keep things under control. “The BNP is a huge political party and there is a competition of leadership. So, some [untoward] incidents surrounding an election are not entirely abnormal. Our leaders are working on it and everything will be settled before the [upazila] polls,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.
When asked about the Jamaat contenders, Rizvi said: “The local leaders are also talking to them and hopefully everything will be fine soon.”
In the first phase, 12 upazilas in Sylhet division will see voting. In Jaintapur upazila under Sylhet district, Jamaat leader Jainal Abedin has got the support of the BNP-led 19-party alliance.
In Biswanath upazila of Sylhet, Jamaat chose one its leader Nizam Uddin Chowdhury as the candidate, while BNP had been mulling over picking one from its local leaders, thus leading to a chaos within the local alliance ranks.
In Jokiganj upazila, BNP’s central command selected former municipality mayor Iqbal Ahmed; but the party’s local chapter opposed the decision and had been electioneering in favour of “rebel” Saifuddin Ahmed.
The same thing has been happening in the Companyganj upazila of the district.
Abdul Gaffar, general secretary of Sylhet district unit BNP, said they would hold a meeting and finalise the candidate by Sunday.
Without mentioning any name, he explained: “Because of some BNP leaders, there have been some problems in selecting lone candidates to be backed by the BNP-led 19-party combine in Sylhet. This has also given rise to a misunderstanding with Jamaat.”
Fakhrul Islam, acting secretary general of Sylhet city unit Jamaat, said the 19-party alliance had been finding it difficult to finalise the candidates because of a lack of unity among the BNP leaders.
“The BNP has not yet managed to bring the rebel candidates under control in some upazilas. That has given rise to a chaotic situation,” Fakhrul told the Dhaka Tribune.
At least ten activists and leaders of BNP sustained injuries in a clash between two factions of the party which erupted surrounding the nomination issue in Isshorganj of Mymensingh yesterday. A local BNP office was also torched in the clash.
At Nikli upazila in Kishergonj on Friday, local administration imposed section 144 in the Dampara area after two factions of local BNP convened separate programmes at the same venue and time.
On Thursday, a faction of Nikli upazila unit BNP declared Fazlur Rahman, president of Kishoreganj district unit BNP, unwanted in their area. They burnt his effigy accusing him of bypassing local leaders’ opinions and nominating incompetent people for the upazila chairman’s post.
