Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which was in the power for more than two terms, is now almost has become a lip service based party due to its own crises.
It has no activities either on the streets or in the field level, which made the party’s leaders and activists frustrated and angry with the senior leaders.
Run by a remote controller, the BNP is now also almost torn out due to intra-party feuds, leadership crisis, lack of trust among the party’s leaders. As a result, the party is now almost in a shamble.
In the absence of a leader to command the party, according to sources, all the activities of the party are being run by some of the party’s old-aged leaders keeping the party’s sincere, dedicated and young leadership sidelined.
It should be mentioned that BNP’s chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is ailing and stands discredited after her conviction in a corruption case for siphoning off money meant for orphans.
Her son and acting chief Tarique Rahman is leading a fugitive life in London, who has been convicted of planning a failed assassination bid of Sheikh Hasina with his complicity in planning the 2004 grenade attack on an Awami League rally established in court.
Tarique runs the BNP by remote control from London, much to the chagrin of several senior leaders who cannot accept his arrogance. Many feel he is out of touch with ground realities in Bangladesh. In this circumstance, the BNP's self-contradiction is surfaced all over.
It further could be recalled that the BNP is a party born in the barracks mid-wifed by the country's first military dictator General Ziaur Rahman. They inherited his authoritarian tendencies and a penchant for the use of force. The 2004 grenade attack on Sheikh Hasina's rally was an attempted repeat of 1975 because it aimed at liquidating the entire Awami League top leadership in one stroke. So, Tarique was walking in the footsteps of his father who had played a key behind-the-scenes role in the 1975 coup.
Political analysts say that immediate after the 20-party alliance led by Dr Kamal Hossain was broken after the past 11th general election, the BNP started becoming lonely day by day by losing its friends and allies one after another.
In this circumstance, grassroots level leaders and activists of the party as well as its supporters are being frustrated and angry with its senior leaders.
According to sources, BNP is becoming weaker due to doubts and mistrusts among its leaders as well as intra-party leadership conflicts. At the same time, its allied partners are also leaving the BNP one by one for the same reasons.
Not only that the BNP itself also is severing relations with its well-wishers and allies.
In the latest move, the BNP cut-off relations with veteran politicians Dr Kamal Hossain, Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury, Mahmudur Rahman Manna and many others.
For the same reason, many other well-wishers of BNP, its senior leaders and allies had left the party earlier in different times.
Few months ago, Jamiyat-e-Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh, one of the ancient religious and Qaumi Madrasah-based parties, withdrew itself from the BNP-led 20-party alliance alleging that the BNP did not evaluate them in the past.
Earlier in few years, the BNP lost its several other allies including Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) led by former BNP leader Col (Retd) Oli Ahmed, Bangladesh Kalyan Party led by another former BNP leader Gen (Retd) Ibrahim, National People’s Party and Islami Oikya Jote.
On the other hand, immediate before the past national election, the BNP had formed another alliance jointly with the BNP-led 20-party alliance and ‘Jatiya Oikya Front’ led by Gono Forum Leader Dr Kamal Hossain.
But, neither the Jatiya Oikya Front nor any party like Gono Furum, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) led by ASM Abdur Rob, Krishak-Shramik-Janata League led by Qader Siddique and Nagorik Oikya led by former DUSCU leader Mahmudur Rahman Manna are active now with the BNP.
Moreover, Jamaat-e-Islami, the key partner of the BNP-led alliance, has no communication with the BNP for the last few years.
As a result, the BNP has now become a party detached from both the mass people and its allies.
It is widely known that BNP as a political party that lost public support and sympathy due to its various activities against the people of the country as well as the independence of Bangladesh.
