Jan 13, 2019: BNP chief Khaleda Zia appears at a hearing of graft case at the makeshift courtroom on the premises of the Old Dhaka Central Jail, where she has been kept since February 2018 after being convicted of embezzling foreign donations made to the Zia Orphanage Trust.
It’s usual for Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to speak with the party chief during court appearances when the discussion centers on key party issues and Khaleda’s health condition.
But that day, it was different as it he was meeting the party chief for the first time after the Dec 30 election.
Following BNP’s debacle in the general election, Mirza Fakhrul, as the de facto leader of the party, was in a tight spot with calls resonating from senior leaders about reconstitution.
But it was on that day, Mirza Fakhrul was clear that the party chief had still faith in her.
According to people familiar with the Jan 13 conversation between him and Khaleda, Mirza Fakhrul asked the party chief that should he step down amid calls for reform within the party after the election debacle.
“Why should you resign? The voting was done on the night of Dec 29, what could the leaders have done [against that],” is what they quoted Khaleda saying.
No BNP leaders agreed to comment on this issue, but chiefs of several other political parties, including BNP’s allies in the Jatiya Oikya Front, said they know about the conversation.
The BNP secretary general, however, described it as “gossip”.
“Who told you this?” an apparently irked Mirza Fakhrul told Bangla Tribune, when he was reached on Sunday (Mar 3) over the phone.
“What’s with these gossips? … You [the media] should concentrate on what’s happening with the country,” he said.
According to party insiders, National Standing Committee members Moudud Ahmad and Khondoker Mosharraf Hossain were at the forefront of bringing in reforms within the party.
“Rumours were swirling within the party after the polls that the secretary general was resigning. But it’s clear now that’s not the case,” a BNP Central Executive Committee member said on condition of anonymity.
Speaking to Bangla Tribune on Sunday, leaders of two allies of the BNP in the Jatiya Oikya Front as well chiefs of two Left parties said they were aware about it. They, however, declined to comment on the record.
“Khaleda Zia has faith on Mirza Fakhrul. During his conversation with Khaleda, Mirza Fakhrul was told not to resign,” said one of the leaders.
Two members of BNP’s highest policymaking Standing Committee spoke to Bangla Tribune on condition of anonymity.
“I don’t know whether he [Mirza Fakhrul] asked her [Khaleda] about resigning. But it’s likely as he was appointed by her. If she has said no then Mirza Fakhrul will not resign. It’s out of the question,” said the senior BNP leader, who is an eminent lawyer.
A colleague of his at the Standing Committee, however, said Mirza Fakhrul’s removal was not the issue after the polls.
“The issue which came up was why did we contest the election? It was being contemplated to call in the all 300 candidates in Dhaka and demonstrate in front of the EC before boycotting the polls. But the secretary general had doubts whether the candidates would travel to Dhaka leaving their constituencies,” he told Bangla Tribune.
According to people close with the BNP secretary general, Mirza Fakhrul informed them soon after the Jan 13 conversation with Khaleda that “the party chief had faith on him”.
Former Dhaka University VC Emajuddin Ahmed, who is known to be pro-BNP intellectual, however, says that the BNP failed to take the timely decision during the election.
“For instance, around 10am on polls day, he [Mirza Fakhrul] said something like that the voting was being held in a fair way. Some issues like these have been raised against him from within the party. He should have had an intel gathering mechanism just like the government. After all, he leads the major opposition party,” he told Bangla Tribune on Sunday.
According to Ahmed, Mirza Fakhrul may have raised the issue of resignation before the party chief out of “some kind of realization in face of criticism”.
“But then again, there were criticism over Dr Kamal Hossain then … But this is not the time to step down rather to chalk out the strategy for future,” he said.