Frustration has gripped the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led 20-party alliance as crack continued developing in the alliance. The alliance partners are getting aggravated by BNP’s big-brotherly attitudes towards them. BNP always takes decision unilaterally over any burning political issue ignoring its alliance partners, making the alliance partners feel demoralised and frustrated.
And this made them quit the alliance one after another, sources inside the party politics said. BNP-led four-party alliance was formed in 1999 for the 2001 election. The alliance consisted of BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, Bangladesh Jatiya Party (Najiur) and Islami Oikya Jote was extended and took the new name 20-Party Alliance on 18 April 2012.
The newly included parties in the alliance were Khelafat Majlish, Bangladesh Jatiya Party-BJP, Jatiya Ganatantrik Party-JAGPA, Bangladesh Kalyan Party, National People's Party-NPP, Bangladesh National Awami Party-Bangladesh NAP, Jamiote-Olamaye-Islam Bangladesh, National Democratic Party-NDP, Bangladesh Labour Party, Bangladesh Muslim League – BML, Bangladesh Islamic Party, National Awami Party (NAP-Bhasani), Democratic League-DL and Bangladesh People's League.
Jamaat leaders and activities being frustrated over the cancellation of the registration of their party have already cut ties with BNP unofficially. The Islami Oikya Jote leaders are also maintaining distance with BNP. And when BJP Chairman Andaleeve Rahman Partha quit the coalition for various reasons, including swearing in by seven MPs-elect of Jatiya Oikyafront, the crack developed earlier widened fueling frustration among the leaders of the alliance partners.
Apart from BJP, a faction of Bangladesh Labour Party that remains intact with BNP till now has also issued ultimatum to quit the alliance. Mustafizur Rahman, chairman of Bangladesh Labour Party, said if BNP does cut its tie with Oikyafront by May 23, they will leave the BNP-led 20-party alliance. When contacted on Tuesday, Partha said they had left the 20-party alliance for a number of reasons.
“BNP has now become too much Oikyafront-oriented, while the 20-party has now become a platform only to express solidarity with BNP’s decisions,” he told Bangladesh Post. He said BNP-led 20-party rejected the December-30 election outright terming it a ‘farcical’ one. “Like the country’s people, our party was also stunned as Oikyafront’s seven MPs-elect took oath. BNP didn’t consult the 20-party partners about its decision to join parliament,” he said.
He added BNP and Oikyafront have lost moral rights to reject the December-30 election of ‘vote robbery’ as their MPs-elect were sworn in. Talking to media Senior Joint Secretary General of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said BJP Chairman did the right thing in right way. Meanwhile, a fresh crack has developed within the BNP itself, worrying its already demoralised leaders from the grassroots to central level.
The party’s latest decision to join parliament following acting chairman Tarique Rahman’s instruction has further deepened the ongoing crisis, sources inside the party said. When BNP’s four MPs-elect took oath as per Tarique Rahman’s directives the party’s secretary general, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir refrained from taking oath even though the deadline for swearing in expired on Wednesday.
As a result, a sense of mistrust has apparently developed among the leaders and workers over the party high command. Earlier, almost all stalwarts of the party had said that their six MPs-elect would not join parliament because their party decided that their elected members won’t take oath. BNP’s senior leaders mostly the members of standing committee expressed their resentment over Tarique Rahman’s what they said was a sudden decision without informing them.
They also raised questions if the BNP elect lawmakers took oath as per Tarique decision why Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir did not follow it. However, BNP Secretary General said he did not take oath as MP as a part of their party’s strategy. “Now you can ask me why I’m not taking oath when my party has decided to join parliament. I can say it’s also a strategy of our party.”
The BNP leader said they have sent their MPs-elect to parliament to use the minimum scope for raising voice as other democratic spaces have got squeezed.
The BNP who took oath said they would request the Prime Minister to release their leader (Khaleda Zia) from jail. They said their party thinks it is logical to carry out a movement on the street and in parliament simultaneously using the limited scope for raising voice in the House to realise their demand for the restoration of people’s voting rights, democracy and the release of Khaleda Zia.
Party insiders said some BNP standing committee members want a change in the party leadership, including the post of party secretary general, through holding a council to stage a comeback in politics after the drubbing in the 11th parliamentary election. But most party policymakers are unwilling to hold the council keeping Khaleda Zia in jail.
They think their party should now focus on finding ways to have their chairperson released from jail alongside reorganising the party grassroots. BNP senior leaders are also divided over the issue of maintaining their unity with Dr Kamal Hossain-led Jatiya Oikyafront and keeping Jamaat in the 20-Party Alliance.
As per the BNP's constitution, the party will have to hold its national council after every three years. But the party repeatedly violated such provision in holding the councils in the past.
BNP's last council was held on March 19, 2016 where Khaleda Zia was reelected party chairperson while Tarique Rahman and Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir were made senior vice chairman and secretary general respectively. According to party insiders, BNP standing committee members Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain and Moudud Ahmed along with some vice chairmen joined hands against party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, and they want a change in the post of party secretary general, and some other ones through a council.
However, the other standing committee members are still backing Fakhrul. Earlier, BNP’s four MPs-elect -- Advocate Abdus Sattar (Brahmanbaria-2), Harun-ur Rashid Harun (Chapainawabganj-3), Aminul Islam (Chapainawabganj-2) and Mosharraf Hossain (Bogura-4) -- took oath as members of the 11th Parliament, following the footstep of Zahidur Rahman Zahid (Thakurgaon-3).
With the latest ones, 299 MPs-elect out of 300 in the 11th parliamentary polls were sworn in. BNP along with Ganoforum and some other parties joined the election in alliance under the banner of Jatiya Oikyafront. BNP bagged six seats while Ganoforum two in the election. The alliance turned down the election results bringing the allegation of 'massive vote robbery' and decided not to join parliament. However, Ganoforum’s two MPs-elect Sultan Mohammad Mansur (Moulvibazar-2) and Mokabbir Khan (Sylhet-2) were sworn in on March 7 and April 2 respectively.