Thakurgaon BNP Conference After Seven Years: Leadership Selection Raises Questions

The Thakurgaon district unit of the BNP is preparing for its first council in more than seven years, the last one having been held on 31 December 2017. Despite several announcements since then, the party had repeatedly failed to organize the event. Now, after a long gap of seven years and eight months, the long-awaited district conference is set to take place.

Excitement among grassroots leaders and activists has grown, as this time leadership is supposed to be decided through a secret ballot. Still, uncertainty lingers over whether voting will actually take place.

At a meeting on 18 August, the district BNP initially decided to hold the council on 8 September, with no candidates allowed to contest. That decision was later reversed. On 30 August, chief election commissioner for the district council, Badiuzzaman Chowdhury, announced the schedule for leadership selection through a secret ballot. The deadline for nominations was last Wednesday.

According to the party’s constitution, the district committee should have no more than 151 members. Yet, only 11 nominations were filed for five positions.

For the presidency, current general secretary Mirza Faisal Amin, younger brother of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, submitted the lone nomination. Meanwhile, four aspirants—district vice president Obaidullah Masud, Al Mamun Alam, joint secretary Paigam Ali, and municipal BNP president Shariful Islam—are competing for the general secretary post. For joint secretary, nominations came from Murad Hossain, Ansarul Haque, and Abu Hasan Md. Abdul Hannan. For organizing secretary, Md. Zafrullah and Satyajit Kumar Kundu filed candidacies. For publicity secretary, Aminul Islam (alias Sohag) joined the race.

Preparations are in full swing at Thakurgaon Government Boys’ High School field, the chosen venue. The town has been decorated with banners, posters, and festoons, creating a festive mood. However, doubts remain: by Thursday afternoon, all six candidates for posts other than general secretary had withdrawn, leaving only the general secretary race uncertain. Many now wonder if even that contest will go to a vote.

Election commissioner Badiuzzaman Chowdhury said that arrangements for voting are complete. BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman is scheduled to address the conference virtually as chief guest. The event will be inaugurated by Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, with Vice Chairman Shamsuzzaman Dudu as keynote speaker. Organizing secretary Asadul Habib Dulu, assistant organizing secretary Abdul Khalek, and Aminul Islam will join as special guests.

BNP leaders recall that during the Awami League government, over 7,000 BNP activists in Thakurgaon were charged in more than a hundred cases, with many jailed. Fear of arrest often kept activists from party activities. But things have changed. After the BNP’s district office was set on fire on 4 August last year, a new building was constructed. Today, that office has become a regular gathering place, with the upcoming council dominating conversations.

In the last district conference, held in December 2017, Taimur Rahman was elected president and Mirza Faisal Amin general secretary. Although such councils are supposed to be held every two years, repeated postponements prevented another until now. In March last year, Taimur Rahman passed away.

Speaking to the press, Mirza Faisal Amin explained that the district conference was delayed because upazila and municipal councils had to be completed first. He added that the central committee has instructed that expired district committees be reorganized quickly.

On the possibility of a secret ballot, Faisal said: “We are prepared for leadership to be chosen through voting. But in reality, only five posts drew 11 nominations. In Thakurgaon, BNP politics largely revolves around the secretary general (Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir). Because of that, local leaders and activists often leave the final decision on leadership to him. My sense is that the house may decide the process, and voting might not be necessary. Still, we want the leadership to be chosen through a secret ballot.”