CUCSU election: Disorganised Chhatra Dal faces tactical Islami Chhatra Shibir

Even two years ago, leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), and the Islami Chhatra Shibir could not engage in open political activities on the Chattogram University (CU) campus. The situation, however, has been markedly different over the past year. While Chhatra Shibir used this period to its full advantage, JCD failed to organise itself effectively. That lack of preparedness cost them dearly in this year’s central students’ union (CUCSU) election.

JCD is the student wing of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) while Islami Chhatra Shibir is the student wing of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.

Over the past year, Chhatra Shibir built a disciplined and well-organised structure of the organisation on campus. It held regular meetings, assemblies, cultural events and online campaigns, demonstrating a visibly coordinated presence across various platforms.

When the election arrived, Chhatra Shibir was battle-ready while Chhatra Dal was fragmented and unprepared.

In the seventh CUCSU election, held on Wednesday, the Chhatra Shibir-backed alliance “Sampriti’r Shikkharthi Jote” (students’ alliance for harmony) won 24 out of 26 posts.

The two top posts, vice-president (VP) and general secretary (GS), were both won by Chhatra Shibir-supported candidates. The only major exception came in the post of assistant general secretary (AGS), where Chhatra Dal’s Ayubur Rahman was elected.

There were 27,516 registered voters, and the turnout was 65 per cent. That means around 17,885 students cast their ballots.

CUCSU elections have been held seven times so far. Chhatra Shibir first triumphed in 1981, then lost in 1990. Now, after 44 years, Islami Chhatra Shibir has returned to lead the student union once again.

The Chattogram University unit of Chhatra Dal has a five-member committee that was announced on 11 August 2023. According to its constitution, the committee’s term has already expired.

The committee includes president Mohammad Alauddin Mohsin, general secretary Abdullah Al Noman, senior vice-president (currently expelled) Mohammad Mamunur Rashid, joint secretary Md Yasin, and organising secretary Sazzad Hossain. None of these five hold regular student status anymore.

For years, JCD had been practically inactive on the CU campus. Even during the BNP’s tenure in government (2001–2006), the organisation could not gain a foothold here.

At that time, Chhatra Shibir’s influence was dominant; later, the Bangladesh Chhatra League (the Bangladesh Awami League’s student wing) took absolute control of the campus.

Following the 5 August uprising, the campus reopened for all, yet Chhatra Dal failed to capitalise on that opportunity. It could not establish a presence in the dormitories, nor could it unite over the selection of candidates; divisions and disputes marred the process.

In their preliminary assessment, Chhatra Dal activists identified at least five central reasons for their defeat: lack of preparation, organisational divisions, conflict over nominations, structural weakness, and poor communication.

According to them, infighting severely undermined their campaign. The organisation remains split into at least three factions on campus, and these divisions persisted even during the CUCSU election.

For instance, Chhatra Dal’s senior vice-president Mohammad Mamunur Rashid supported a candidate outside the official panel, for which he has since been expelled for life from the organisation.

Addressing the issue of organisational weakness, Chhatra Dal’s central general secretary Nasir Uddin said at a press conference last Thursday, “We have not been able to build a proper organisational structure at Chattogram University for a long time. That process is now complete. A new committee will be announced within a few days.”

Islami Chhatra Shibir’s presence on the Chittagong University campus is not new. From the 1980s until 2014, the group was politically active here. In 2014, under the Awami League government, it was driven off the campus and remained underground for nearly a decade.

After the July Mass Uprising, Bangladesh Chhatra League lost its dominance over the university. Into that vacuum stepped Chhatra Shibir, reorganising itself rapidly.

In September last year, the organisation’s president and secretary publicly reappeared, followed in October by Sayeed Bin Habib, then literary secretary, who has now been elected GS in this year’s CUCSU elections. The full committee was soon reconstituted.

Commenting on the sweeping victory, newly elected General Secretary Sayeed Bin Habib told Prothom Alo, “We had a one-year plan for this election. Over the past year, we carried out more than 800 programmes, including fresher receptions, debates, international seminars, mass iftars, felicitating the meritorious students. All of these were part of our effort to build strong ties with students.”

There are currently nine male residential halls at Chattogram University, each with 14 elected positions. According to election results, Chhatra Shibir won 76 out of 140 hall posts, while Chhatra Dal secured 19. The remaining 45 posts went to independent and left-leaning candidates.

Analysts say that despite the overwhelming central defeat, this performance in the halls offers Chhatra Dal a small ray of hope for rebuilding.

Among the five female residential halls, 123 candidates contested for 70 positions. In 21 of these, there was only one candidate, meaning votes were cast in 49 positions.

The Islami Chhatri Sangstha (the female students’ wing of Jamaat-e-Islami) fielded panels in four of the five halls and won 36 positions. The only exception was Nawab Faizunnesa Hall, where the Chhatri Sangstha did not field a panel. Instead, ethnic minority and Bangalee students jointly put forward a “Bond of Friendship” panel, 11 members of which were elected unopposed before polling day.

Students on campus believe that Shibir’s victory after 44 years is not merely a political comeback but a potential indicator of the future direction of student politics at the university.

Mostafa Galib, a second-year economics student, told Prothom Alo, “Chhatra Dal lagged behind from the very beginning of the campaign. They failed to establish a strong online presence. Apart from the VP, GS and AGS candidates, most of their nominees could not even reach out to the wider student body. On the other hand, there was no sign of internal disorder within Chhatra Shibir.”