Infighting in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party has deepened with rival leaders engaging increasingly in shows of strength at different tiers of the party apparently to keep the high command under pressure for nomination in the elections. Fighting between rival groups broke out recently in presence of BNP’s senior and mid-level central leaders in different districts, including Moulvibazar, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Rangpur districts and finally in Satkhira on Friday that resulted in the brutal killing of a local leader.
The local leader, Amanullah Aman, general secretary of Satkhira district Jatiyatabadi Motshajibi Dal, was killed in a bloody infighting between rival groups of the party in presence of a central leader on Friday.
The clashes broke out during a workers’ meeting of the district BNP as part of the central programme to gear up organisational activities at the grassroots level as the party was preparing for the ‘final phase’ of the anti-government movement.
BNP international affairs secretary Nazimuddin Alam was present at the workers’ meeting in Satkhira.
Long rivalry between district unit BNP president Habibul Islam Habib and general secretary Syed Iftekhar Ali, over establishing dominance over the local unit led to the fighting, the party sources said.
Activists loyal to Iftekhar said, Habib had never consulted the general secretary before forming committees of the party’s front and associate organisations in the district.
Habib, a former lawmaker, is also backing a rival of Iftekhar for the party ticket in the next general elections, the sources said.
Habib’s supporters alleged that Iftekhar belonged to the ‘reformist group’ of BNP and that he had ‘links’ to the government.
Immediately after the killing of Aman on Friday, the BNP high command suspended all organisational activities of Satkhira district unit and formed a three-member committee to investigate the bloody clashes.
BNP international affairs secretary Nazimuddin Alam told New Age on Saturday that ‘some kind of instigation’ from the ruling party might have led to the incident.
When contacted, a senior leader of BNP told New Age that a number of factors were responsible for the internal feuds, including shows of strength by rival leaders to secure the party nomination in the polls and dominate the local units.
He said victories of the BNP-backed candidates in the elections to five city corporations recently had diverted the minds of the party leaders and activists from movement to election.
As a result the aspirants were becoming desperate to win the party tickets, he said.
Asked about similar intra-party clashes in other districts, BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told New Age on Saturday that the people who did not want success of BNP were hatching ‘conspiracies’ to weaken the party.
In reply to a question, he said enemies of the party had chosen the time before election to carry out such activities.
BNP standing committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain told New Age that rivalries for leadership and nominations were nothing unusual in a large political party like BNP.
When asked about the intra-party clashes, standing committee member Moudud Ahmed said internal feuds and rivalries in large political parties were ‘not unusual’.
He said there was nothing to worry about but added that the party should take disciplinary action against those responsible for such activities.
BNP’s outspoken leader Mirza Abbas, a member of the standing committee, told New Age that ‘reactionary groups’ inside and outside the party were instigating such activities.
-With New Age input
