BNP-led 20-party alliance partners not keen on Oikya Front

The BNP-led 20-party alliance leaders are unwilling to show much interest in Jatiya Oikya Front, formed prior to the election.

The alliance partners have openly criticised Jatiya Oikya Front.

President of the 20-party alliance partner Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Oli Ahmed, said many of the Oikya Front leaders took money from the government. “I know how much money was taken and from where,” he said at an event in his party office.

His statement has embarrassed leaders of BNP and Jatiya Oikya Front.

Consisting of five political parties including BNP, the Jatiya Oikya Front was formed with Gono Forum president Kamal Hossain as its convener in October last year. BNP also maintained relations with the 20-party alliance. BNP, along with the 20-party alliance and the Jatiya Oikya Front, contested the 30 December national election.

BNP nominated 40 candidates from the 20-party alliance partners and 19 candidates from Oikya Front. BNP won 6 seats while the Oikya Front two seats. No partners of the BNP-led 20-party alliance won any seat.

The 20-party alliance has held only one meeting since the election. It has not organised any programme either. However, BNP is holding regular meetings with Jatiya Oikya Front.

BNP has organised human chains and public hearing with the Oikya Front. The public hearing presided over by Kamal Hossain was held on 22 February. BNP urged the candidates of the two alliances to attend the hearing, but only two candidates from the 20-party alliance attended. However, several parties of the 20-party alliance joined the mass hunger strike demanding the release of Khaleda Zia.
Not keen at all on Jatiya Oikya Jote, the 20-party leaders are unhappy with BNP's attitude.

Under these circumstances, the 20-party alliance is scheduled to hold a meeting on Monday evening. The meeting will be held at BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office. BNP and 20-party alliance leaders will attend it.

Chairman of the 20-party alliance component Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP), Andalib Rahman Partha, said BNP is too busy with the Oikya Front. He said the 20-party alliance was dominated by BNP. BNP knows very well when the alliance should discuss political issues, Andalib added.

Secretary general of another component Khelafat Majlis, Ahmad Abdul Quader, said BNP was paying too much attention to the Oikyan Front. The 20-party alliance has no activities, he added.

“We don’t like BNP to give so much importance to the Oikya Front and avoid the 20-party alliance,” LDP senior joint secretary general Shadat Hossain Selim told Prothom Alo.

He said the 20-party alliance was an old one. In the present context, the alliance should be reformed, he suggested, adding those parties which are not registered should be dropped.

Jamaat-e-Islam, one of the components of the 20-party alliance, hardly holds any political programmes.

At two separate events, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir claimed that there was no problems between the 20-party alliance and the Jatiya Oikya Front.

• This report, originally published in Prothom Alo Bangla online edition, has been rewritten in English by Rabiul Islam