Satkhira BNP dogged by internal feud

Frustration has gripped the party rank and file and there is no chain of command, some senior leaders seeking anonymity told this correspondent.

On the other hand, allegations of extortion, land grabbing and such other illegal activities by many of the mid-level leaders are tarnishing the image of the party, they said.

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There are speculations among many party leaders and activists that the high command may bring new faces in party leadership because of the internal feud, they said.

The BNP high command on June 8 last year dissolved the district committee headed by MA Jalil and Syed Iftekhar Ali and formed a committee with Habibul Islam Habib MP, MA Jalil and Rahmatullah Palash as president, senior vice-president and general secretary respectively and asked them to form a full fledged committee within three months.

But the committee could not be formed in one year due to internal feud.

The feud among district level leaders of BNP and its front organisations has spread to the committees in the nine upazilas.

On the other hand, district BNP's senior vice-president MA Jalil who kept himself aloof from political activities after losing the last municipal election has become active and sided with Palash.

The leaders said the party is now virtually divided inbto two groups, one led by Habib and the other by Palash.

Most of the leaders and activists are being used as tools to take revenge on rivals, they said.

The rivals are accusing each other for alleged involvement in toll collection, land grabbing, tender manipulation, illegal occupation of shrimp enclosures and drug trafficking. Field level party activists blame senior leaders for collapse in chain of command.

Senior leaders including some of the lawmakers are now busy building fortunes instead of party activities, alleged a senior leader belonging to the Palash group.

"The party is losing public support being discredited due to misdeeds of some top leaders of BNP and its fronts who sided with Palash", said two senior leaders of Satkhira Pourasava BNP seeking anonymity.

"Some leaders of Palash group are involved in toll collection, tender manipulation, land grabbing, illegal occupation of shrimp enclosures and drug trafficking", alleged Samsuzzaman Bablu, former organising secretary of Satkhira BNP, at a press conference held at Satkhira Reporters Club on April 23.

The party high command summoned Habib and Palash for a meeting in Dhaka on June 23 to mend the differences. The high command asked them to form a committee by June 29.

As they again failed to form the committee within the deadline, 39 top leaders of district and upazila levels were summoned by the high command for another meeting in Dhaka on July 4 to solve the crisis.

At the meeting at Hawa Bhaban, BNP's Senior Joint Secretary General Tarique Rahman asked them to form a committee within 15 days. But they could not do it even in 13 days after expiry of the deadline due to intra-party conflict.

"In case of their failure the party high command may think to choose new faces to lead the party in Satkhira", said a senior leader. Former state minister Syed Didar Bakth may be chosen to lead the party in Satkhira, some party leaders said.

Didar Bakth was state minister for information during Jatiya Party rule. He joined BNP after fall of Ershad.