Will Nasir's rise in Ctg eclipse Mohiuddin?

For more than two decades, Mohiuddin Chowdhury has almost single-handedly controlled the politics of Chittagong city. His sway was reinforced in 1994 when he became mayor and retained that position twice more. But with the grassroots and the party high-ups longing for new leadership in Chittagong and party favourite AJM Nasir Uddin becoming mayor, is Mohiuddin's sway going to be challenged?

Some leaders think so.

However, for others, it is too early to predict.

The Daily Star has talked to several leaders of the ruling party who are speculating that the "nucleus of power" will likely be passed on to Nasir, the general secretary of Chittagong city Awami League, from Mohiuddin, his president.

Party insiders say Nasir is on a strong footing now due to a host of reasons.

Firstly, he has been elected mayor and is the second man in Chittagong city AL. His clout is growing as well, particularly among the young leadership strongly antagonistic to fundamentalism and the politics of Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir.

"Definitely, he will play an important role against Jamaat-Shibir's politics in Chittagong," said former general secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) Mahfuzul Haider Chowdhury Roton, also a close associate of Nasir.

Thirdly, there are grassroots leaders who accuse Mohiuddin of suppressing the emergence of new leadership while the central leaders want fresh blood.

Nasir himself has been cornered for years. 

In the 1980s, as chief of the city BCL, Nasir was the protégé of late AL lawmaker Akhteruzzaman Chowdhury Babu, the archrival of Mohiuddin inside AL at that time. Since the 1990s, Nasir had tried to get into AL committee for at least thrice but was shoved away from the party frontline each time. Nasir finally overcame all hurdles and become the party's city general secretary in 2012. As a result, the politics of AL's associated bodies mainly BCL also got divided and followed the two leaders.         

Fourthly, Nasir is a successful organiser. "There is no doubt that the centre of Awami League's politics will be shifted to him in Chittagong in the coming days," AL central leader Abdur Rahman said of Nasir.

But other leaders are sceptical. Mohiuddin is unmatched in AL's politics in Chittagong, said Habibur Rahman Tarek, joint secretary of central BCL. His standing,  sway, and necessity will not be undermined so easily, he added.

Ibrahim Hossain Babul, vice president of Chittagong city AL, holds similar views. "It is too early to predict that the centre of power will be shifted to Nasir. It'll take a while."

Moreover, Mohiuddin is known as a charismatic leader and is still widely accepted in Chittagong. Though he is ageing and made an unsuccessful bid to get party blessing for the April 28 mayoral run, his enormous control is unlikely to wane.

On the other hand, Nasir's politics riding on "muscle power" might be a drag.

The same was echoed by senior BNP leaders in Chittagong Ameer Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and Abdullah Al Noman who on several occasions earlier said that Nasir's rise might revive the political goons. They also accused Nasir of bringing "goons" for the April 28 city vote from outside.