A faction of Jatiya Party led by Raushon Ershad wants to contest the next parliamentary election slated to be held in January 2024.
They have planned to start by fielding candidates in the by-elections of the constituencies vacated after resignation by the BNP lawmakers.
Different reliable sources have said the declaration of Raushon Ershad as the acting chairperson of JaPa is a part of that plan.
Sources concerned said an informal meeting of JaPa co-chairman and six presidium members in presence of Raushon Ershad was held at Westin Hotel on 7 December. The decision of making Raushon Ershad the acting chairperson was taken there. However, the matter was not disclosed to the media. The matter was disclosed after one week on Wednesday through two internet based media which are run by associates of Raushon Ershad.
Reliable sources in JaPa said a huge reaction broke out inside the party after Raushon Ershad was made the acting chairperson without following any organisational rules.
Following pressure from inside JaPa and outside quarters, the declaration of Raushon Ershad as the acting chairperson was postponed. Party insiders said the move has not been cancelled entirely. Although the pro-Raushon camp was reined in for the time being as part of a strategy, they may go ahead with the move ahead of the next parliamentary election.
With a 10-point demand including the election under a non-party government, BNP lawmakers resigned on 11 December. The election commission will announce schedule on Sunday for by-elections in six constituencies which fell vacant.
JaPa leaders and activists think a complexity in the party may emerge over the nomination of candidates in the by-election in vacated seats as Raushon Ershad wants to nominate the candidates loyal to her. But there is a doubt among the leaders and activists as to how much that would be acceptable to the top leadership of the party.
According to sources, Raushon Ershad told leaders loyal to her about nominating Ziaul Haque Mridha for Brahmanbaria-2, Hafizuddin Ahmed for Thakurgaon-3, Nurul Islam for Bogura-6 and Kazi Mamunur Rashid for any other constituency.
However, there is a controversy about Ziaul Haque and Kazi Mamunur Rashid in the party.
Ziaul Haque on Friday said to Prothom Alo, "I will get nomination. Madam (Raushon Ershad) asked me to work in the locality. She will take the decision."
Jatiya Party presidium member Rezaul Islam Bhuiyan got nomination from Brahmanbaria-2 in the national election in 2018. He is the son-in-law of Ziaul Haque. Failing to get nomination, Ziaul Haque contested the election as an independent candidate. BNP candidate Abdus Sattar won the election.
This time too, a battle is going on between Raushon Ershad and GM Quader over these two candidates.
About the matter Ziaul Haque said, "I am on one side and Rezaul on the other. Here family relations and political relations are quite different. I am not thinking about him. If the leaders want unity and peace, then a negotiation will take place. Otherwise, the law will take its own course."
JaPa leaders, among the four probable candidates in the by-elections, Ziaul Haque is expelled from the party.
In a case filed by Ziaul Haque, the court has imposed a temporary ban on GM Quader in taking decision as the chairman of JaPa. Kazi Mamunur Rashid is nobody of JaPa. A general diary has been recently filed against him with Uttara west police station on charges of issuing death threat to GM Quader.
It is learnt Ziaul Haque and Kazi Mamunur Rashid are involved in the controversy Raushon Ershad has created by calling the council of JaPa during her treatment in Bangkok.
Of the other two, one is presidium member Hafizuddin Ahmed and the other is a member of the advisory council of the JaPa chairman. They are with GM Quader, party sources said.
JaPa main patron and opposition leader in the parliament Raushon Ershad and JaPa chairman GM Quader made a courtesy call on prime minister Sheikh Hasina at Ganabhaban on Friday.
Sources said during the meeting the by-election in the vacant seats came up for discussion, among other issues. Afterwards, different discussions among the leaders and activists arose over participation in the bye-elections, nominating candidates and gaining financial benefits centering the nomination. There are 26 lawmakers of JaPa in the parliament. Four are from reserved seats for women.
Preferring not to be named, a JaPa presidium member said two types of activities centering JaPa are being carried out simultaneously. Firstly, from the higher level of government, control is being kept on JaPa. Secondly, certain leaders in the party are out to make money, keeping Raushon Ershad in the forefront. Dramatic incidents are unfolding in the party over these activities.
JaPa party sources said there are mainly two targets to hurriedly declare Raushon Ershad as acting chairperson, keeping GM Quader in court. One is to ensure Raushon Ershad's nomination power, creating an opportunity to benefit from the probable candidates. A similar strategy was adopted while nominating mayor candidate for the Rangpur City Corporation election. Although JaPa nominated Mostafizar Rahman for the mayoral candidate, pro-Raushon Ershad made an attempt to nominate another candidate Abdur Rouf. There were discussions at the time among the party leaders and activists about taking financial benefits from Abdur Rouf.
It is learnt that after failure of this attempt, the veracity of the signature in the nomination form of Mustafizar Rahman was questioned. JaPa chairman GM Quader could not sign in the nomination form as the court imposed a temporary ban on JaPa chairmanship. On his behalf, Mujibur Haque singed. Despite that, Raushon Ershad gave a separate letter of nomination to Mustafizar. Mustafizar Rahman, however, did not submit this letter to returning officer of Rangpur City Corporation election.
The leaders and activists fear similar controversy may arise over the nomination in the by-elections.
About the matter JaPa secretary general Mujibul Haque said there is no scope to sign nomination letters except elected chairman and secretary general as per the constitution of the party. GM Quader is elected chairman in the party council. If anyone thinks of doing anything outside this, that means he or she does not know rules and regulations. This is nothing but madness.
*This report, originally published in the print and online editions, has been rewritten in English by Rabiul Islam.