The BNP is steadfast on its stance of a young leadership for the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), its student affiliate despite many protests from an older generation of JCD.
The party is doing everything it can to bring new leadership to JCD amid the final instalment of its divisional programmes demanding the release of party chief Khaleda Zia.
Top BNP leadership is holding meetings with the disgruntled JCD leaders in several phases in order to make the transition.
Khaleda formed the JCD committee in 2014 with 153 members, with Rajib Ahsan as the president and Akramul Hasan as the general secretary.
Although it was supposed to be valid till two years since formation it was in June of this year that the committee was dissolved.
Later on Jun 23, BNP Vice Chairman Shamsuzzaman Dudu announced the new council for Jul 15 with the provisions that the candidate must be a primary member of JCD and a student of any educational institution in the country. They should pass the SSC or equivalent exams after 2000.
The move sparked discontent among the JCD members with a faction breaking out in protests. The council for Jul 15 was cancelled amidst high drama that included vandalising the headquarters and locking it down.
Despite the protests and discontent from JCD leaders who passed SSC before the year 2000, the BNP is steadfast that students will be the top leadership of the affiliate.
Dudu, who is also heading the committee responsible for the search of new JCD leadership, told Bangla Tribune, “We aren’t really searching for leadership, we are fixing the process. Chhatra Dal has a bright future.”
He said that only students will be involved in student politics and new leadership will be fixed through votes.
Meanwhile, a group of BNP leaders allege that the process was made lengthier by the fact that the search committee leaders maintained a syndicate amongst themselves.
Although acting chief Tarique Rahman formed the committee with former JCD president and secretary, the remained divided within themselves.
A group claims that some of the committee members showed noticeable effort to make JCD’s Dhaka University unit chief Mehedi Talukder the head of the central committee.
They said that the syndicate is reluctant to bring back regular leadership at JCD as they fear that once the committee is successfully installed, it will set into motion the same process for the other affiliates.
Dudu, however, swatted away the allegations saying, “Those who are commenting are doing so without understanding the situation.”
Another member of the search committee said, “I don’t know where things are going with Chhatra Dal. Nothing is in our hand now.”
Another reliable BNP source said that if bringing back regular students to JCD’s top leadership fails, then it might raise questions on Tarique Rahman’s leadership as well as he is the one who initiated the process.
A top leader of JCD’s Dhaka Metropolitan unit is of the view that to some senior leaders of the affiliates it has become a matter of ego and the BNP high command cannot afford to show any weakness.
“They must establish that they won’t be entitled to privileges if they cannot abide by the party decision,” he said.
He added of regularity isn’t brought back, students will no longer get involved in Chhatra Dal politics.
On Wednesday (Jul 24) top BNP leaders including its policymaking forum National Standing Committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy met with banished JCD leaders.
Now banished JCD co-president Iqtiar Kabir told Bangla Tribune that they raised three demands during the meeting.
The demands were: withdrawing the banishment of 12 JCD leaders and formation of a probe committee to investigate the BNP headquarters vandalising.
They also demanded formation of a convener committee till Jan 1 who will later hand over responsibility to a new commitee and direct meeting with Tarique Rahman.
Another banished leader said that the search committee has failed in its entirety to carry out its job and only Tarique can resolve the issue and called for his intervention.
Search committee member Khairul Kabir Khokon said that the crisis was being resolved through dialogue and the banishment will be lifted.
He said that those leaders although cannot take part in the council due to age will be valued in the central party or its many affiliates.