Senior BNP leader and former army chief Mahbubur Rahman says he has retired from politics.
Speaking to Bangla Tribune on Wednesday (Nov 6), the member of the party's highest policymaking forum said that he has written to party Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir about his decision weeks ago.
"I am no more involved with politics; severed all ties with politics. I have resigned from the party; gave up my seat at the [National] Standing Committee as well as my primary membership; at least one and a half month ago," said Rahman.
The retired lieutenant general says he will turn 80 next month and has nothing to contribute to politics, before adding: "There's no ideology in Bangladeshi politics anymore. What is happening in the name of politics is exploitation."
Asked how the party reacted to his decision, Rahman said, "There was no response from the party. I am free of obligations [by informing the party of my decision]."
The BNP has seen several of its senior leaders leaving the party in the last few years, starting with Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury in 2015. A former foreign secretary, Chowdhury served as a vice-president in the BNP.
Less than two weeks before the national election last year, BNP chief Khaleda Zia's adviser Enam Ahmed Chaudhury switched sides to join the Awami League. The former bureaucrat, who also served as a vice chairman, met with Awami League chief and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina then at her official residence.
On Tuesday (Nov 5), former foreign minister M Morshed Khan resigned from the BNP as vice-chairman citing personal reasons.