Awami League: Expelled leaders active to get back party posts

Former Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) mayor Jahangir Alam was twice expelled from the Awami League and later, he was permanently expelled from the party for making his mother Jayeda Khatun an independent candidate in the GCC polls held in May.

Jahangir Alam’s mother was elected the GCC mayor defeating Awami League nominated candidate Azmat Ullah.

Jahangir now eyes the president post of Gazipur City Awami League. Several Awami League leaders said it won’t be a surprise if his wish is fulfilled as he has been assured by a vital quarter of the party.

Right after that, Jahangir Alam brought a large number of people to Awami League’s 'peace rally' in Dhaka last May.

Jahangir’s followers were also highly active in the Abdullahpur-Tongi area on the day of the BNP’s (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) sit-in programmes at different entry points of Dhaka.

Sources in the Awami League said a number of high-profile leaders, MPs and ministers have been expelled from the party over the last 15 years on different grounds.

Notable among them are former minister Latif Siddiqui, former state minister Murad Hasan, former GCC mayor Jahangir Alam and Ismail Hossain Chowdhury alias Samrat, who was expelled from the party for his involvement in the illegal casino business.

Barishal MP and former general secretary of the Awami Swechhasebak League, Pankaj Nath was exempted from all the posts over internal dispute within the party.

However, on 17 December last year, Awami League announced a general amnesty for the leaders who were temporarily expelled from the party over disciplinary issues. More than a hundred leaders were granted amnesty by the party at the time. Many had appealed even after that.

The then GCC mayor and the then general secretary of Gazipur city Awami League, Jahangir Alam, was expelled from the party on 19 November 2021. It was secretly assumed that Jahangir was expelled as a video of him making derogatory remarks about Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and several prominent leaders in Gazipur went viral on social media Facebook. Later, he was temporarily suspended from the post of GCC mayor as well.

In the context of these incidents, Md Ajmat Ullah Khan was elected the president and Ataullah Mondal the general secretary of the Gazipur city Awami League through a council on 19 November 2022.

With that, any chance of Jahangir’s return to the party had become almost impossible.

Later on 21 January, Jahangir Alam received a letter of amnesty from Awami League's central committee. Since then, he had been trying to regain the mayoral post. However, the government didn’t reinstate his mayoral post.

Meanwhile, the election commission declared the election schedule. After failing to secure nomination from the party, he and his mother Jayeda Khatun collected the nomination papers as independent candidates. However, his candidature was cancelled at the end, but his mother took part in the election as an independent candidate.

Jayeda Khatun was elected the mayor of GCC defeating Awami League candidate Ajmat Ullah Khan in the city polls held on 25 May. Almost all of the party, including the policymakers, think that it was Jahangir Alam who defeated the party nominated candidate, not his mother. However, the ruling party expelled Jahangir permanently from the party before the polls on 15 May.

On 4 June, the public administration ministry appointed him the chairman of the Gazipur Development Association (GDA). The recruitment order said he was appointed to the post for three years on condition that he would have to cut off all political and professional affiliations with other agencies and organisations. However, Ajmat Ullah is still the president of Gazipur city Awami League.

Meanwhile, Jahangir Alam is considering this condition as a chance for him to be the president of Gazipur City Awami League again.

Speaking regarding this to Prothom Alo, Jahangir Alam said he has been assured by the party. He is working for the party.

Within a short time after Jahangir Alam’s incident, former state minister for information Murad Hasan was expelled from the party and was exempted from his ministerial post over making illicit and derogatory comments on women.

Before Jahangir Alam, Abbas Ali, mayor of Katakhali municipality in Rajshahi, was expelled from the party for opposing the installation of a mural of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He was later arrested and was sent to prison. He was also temporarily suspended from the mayoral post. He is now out on bail. It has been learned that Abbas hasn’t appealed for any amnesty.

However, Murad Hasan has appealed for an amnesty. He told Prothom Alo that he appealed for amnesty. However, the party still hasn’t contacted him over this. He is still working as the MP.

Earlier, Latif Siddiqui was expelled from the cabinet in 2014 after making controversial remarks on different religious issues, including holy hajj. Later, he was excluded from the presidium of the Awami League and was expelled from the party eventually. Latif Siddiqui also had to resign from the parliament at the pressure of the party. He has been outside politics since then.

In September last year, Awami League MP from Barishal-4 constituency Pankaj Nath was exempted from all posts in the party. The party sources say his exemption was a symbolic gesture.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Pankaj Nath said, “The central committee of the party granted a general amnesty for all last December. I was one of those being granted amnesty. Therefore, I haven’t appealed separately."

The government launched operations against casino and corruption on 18 September 2019 with the arrest of then Jubo League’s Dhaka city south organising secretary Khaled Mahmud Bhuiyan. Thirteen people including then Dhaka city Jubo League president Ismail Hossain Samrat were arrested during those raids that had lasted one and half months. Many others also left the country, but several of them including then Jubo League organising secretary AKM Mominul Haque Sayeed and former Jubo League central member Mizanur Rahman returned to the country later after they deemed situation turns normal.

Ismail Hossain, Khaled Bhuyian and many others are now on bail while controversial contractor GK Shamim is behind bars. Following the casino scam, leaders of Awami League’s associate bodies, including former Swechhasebak League president Mollah Md Abu Kawsar and then Jubo League chairman Omar Faruk Chowdhury lost their party posts.

Leaders of Awami League’s associate bodies including Jubo League, Swechhasebak League and Krishak League, who lost their party posts or were expelled from the party, did not get the mercy of central Awami League. Associate bodies did not revoke their expulsion either. Yet, the expelled leaders are trying to regain their position at the party.

Sources concerned said leaders who lost their posts or were expelled still have influence in the party, and Awami League is taking this matter into consideration.

There have been examples over the past 15 years that Awami League has reinstated and granted general amnesty to the leaders who were temporarily expelled from the party over disciplinary issues.

Party sources said Awami League showed mercy to the expelled leaders taking the next parliament election and the anti-government movement into consideration.

Awami League joint general secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif said more than 100 leaders were granted amensty at the same time as per the decision taken at the meeting of the party’s national committee. The party, however, also received several more applications seeking mercy later, and those are under consideration now, he added.

*This report appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ashis basu and Hasanul Banna