BNP leaders can't be dissuaded from upazila polls
BNP leaders who are communicating with those violating the directives and contesting in the election, feel that after all four phases, around 200 to 250 will be expelled from the party. BNP leadership is giving importance to party discipline over this number
Despite warnings of stern organisational measures such as expulsion, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leaders can't be dissuaded from participating in the upazila parishad election.
According to the party's central office records, 73 leaders of BNP have collected nomination forms for the second phase of the upazila parishad polls. So far it has been possible to persuade only 12 to withdraw their candidacy. Till now, 61 leaders remain in the fray.
Sources in BNP say that show-cause notices were sent yesterday, Thursday, to the 61 leaders of BNP who persist in contesting in the upazila election. BNP is considering the next step, as in the case of the first phase, will be to expel the 61. If no one in the meantime moves away from the election, then along with the 72 of the first phase of the election, a total of 133 leaders of BNP will be expelled.
BNP leaders say, very few candidates are being convinced to move away from the polls. They are not only violating the party directives, but also not taking the organisational consequences into consideration. The central, divisional and district leaders have been given the duty to dissuade the candidates from contesting, but that has not been very effective. This has been a cause of concern for the party leadership.
BNP central leaders say in the interests of party discipline, there is no alternative but to expel those who have gone ahead to contest despite the party decision
Candidate for the post of chairman in Debiganj in Panchagarh, the upazila BNP convener Rahimul Islam, told Prothom Alo that he was aware that the party has adopted a stern stance, but he is still going ahead with the election.
It was noted that in the first phase too, BNP's leadership was not effective in dissuading the candidates. Only 16 leaders were convinced to withdraw their nomination papers. Of them, 15 had been vying for chairman posts and one for woman vice chairman.
Finally 72 were expelled for taking part in the first phase. Of the expelled persons, 28 were contesting for chairman posts and 20 for women vice chairman posts. BNP has confirmed that the expelled persons were leaders or former leaders or BNP and its front and affiliated organisations.
According to BNP office information, of the 61 BNP leaders taking part in the second phase of the upazila election, 25 are standing for the office of chairman. Another 20 are for vice chairman posts. There are 16 candidates for the posts of women vice chairmen. In the second phase, 12 have withdrawn candidature, eight from the post of chairman and four as vice chairman.
There are discussions within BNP as to what effect this mass expulsion will have at the grassroots and whether this will serve to weaken the party
Many BNP leaders are also revving up for the third and fourth phase of the upazila parishad elections. That means an even longer list of expulsions is in the offing from the party which is boycotting these polls.
BNP leaders who are communicating with those violating the directives and contesting in the election, feel that after all four phases, around 200 to 250 will be expelled from the party. BNP leadership is giving importance to party discipline over this number.
According to the election commission schedule, the elections to around 480 upazila parishads will take place in four phases. Voting in the first phase will be on 8 May. The next phase is on 21 May, the third phase on 29 May and the fourth phase on 5 June. The schedules to all phases of the election have been announced.
Meanwhile, there are discussions within BNP as to what effect this mass expulsion will have at the grassroots and whether this will serve to weaken the party. The leadership, however, remains resolute. BNP central leaders say in the interests of party discipline, there is no alternative but to expel those who have gone ahead to contest despite the party decision. This may weaken the party's organisational base to an extent, but the party will have to tackle that consciously.
BNP's standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, however, looks at the matter a bit differently.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, he said the nearer the election comes, the more BNP men with move away because the election is with Awami League. The candidates will not have the capacity to hold on to their workers and activists. The situation is not conducive to that.