4 leaders of Swechchhasebak Dal, Jubo Dal expelled in Sitakunda
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has expelled four leaders in Chattogram from its Sitakunda Upazila units of the Swechchhasebak Dal and Jubo Dal.
The decision came following the blockade of the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway and incidents of tyre burning, which took place after former joint secretary general Aslam Chowdhury was denied party nomination.
The announcement was made in a press release signed by BNP’s Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Monday night. The statement was posted on the verified Facebook page of BNP’s media cell.
The expelled leaders are Sitakunda Upazila Swechchhasebak Dal president Alaudddin, general secretary Helal Uddin Babor, Sitakunda municipality unit’s convener Md Mamun, and Sonaichhari Jubo Dal general secretary Momin Uddin.
According to the statement posted on the BNP media cell’s Facebook page, the four leaders were expelled from all organisational levels, including primary membership, for engaging in violent, disruptive, and anti-public activities on Monday evening.
These included acts of violence, clashes, and road blockades in the Kadamrasul, Bhatiari Bazar, and Jalil Gate areas of the Dhaka–Chattogram Highway, centring on party nominations in Sitakunda under the Chattogram North district unit.
Earlier on Monday afternoon, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced the party’s candidates for 237 constituencies at a press conference held at the party chairperson’s political office in Gulshan, Dhaka.
For Chattogram-4 (Sitakunda), the nomination went to Kazi Mohammad Salauddin, former joint convener of Chattogram North District BNP. Aslam Chowdhury, the party’s former joint secretary general, was dropped from the list.
Around 7:00 pm, after the news spread, BNP leaders and activists staged protests in Bhatiari, Salimpur, and other parts of the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway setting tyres ablaze.
Around 9:00 pm, protesters set fire to wooden sleepers on the railway tracks near Bhatiari Railway Station, halting train services. They continued demonstrating, chanting slogans in favour of Aslam Chowdhury.
At around 11:00 pm, after Aslam Chowdhury’s supporters received instructions from him to withdraw, the protesters cleared the highway and railway tracks. Vehicular and train movement, suspended for about four hours, gradually resumed.
Md Morsalin, former president of the Chattogram North District Swechchhasebak Dal, told Prothom Alo around 11:15 pm on Monday that after hearing the news of Aslam Chowdhury being denied nomination, local leaders and activists spontaneously blocked different points of the highway, causing severe traffic congestion.
He added that Aslam himself was delayed returning home from Chattogram due to the gridlock. Upon reaching home, Aslam instructed his followers to clear the roads. Following his directive, Morsalin relayed the message to local units, and by 11:00 pm, the blockade was lifted.
A party meeting was scheduled to be held today, Tuesday at 3:00 pm at a community centre named Badsha Fairland near the Jalil Textile Gate area. The resolutions from the meeting will be sent to the party’s high command.
Meanwhile, after receiving nomination from BNP, supporters of Kazi Mohammad Salauddin brought out celebratory processions in Banshbaria, Barabkunda, and several other areas on Monday night.
However, Sitakunda Upazila BNP’s member secretary, Kazi Mohammad Mohiuddin, elder brother of Kazi Mohammad Salauddin, said that today’s gathering is not an official party meeting.
Speaking to Prothom Alo around 11:30 pm, he stated that no party meeting has been called for Tuesday. A review meeting on the nomination issue would be held in two to three days.
“Aslam Chowdhury and the BNP cannot be separated. Only the party’s high command and Aslam Chowdhury himself know why he was not nominated. Whatever decision the high command has made, we all must now unite and work to ensure the victory of the party’s nominated candidate in the upcoming election,” he added.