Move on in AL for leadership change

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A number of key Awami League (AL) leaders have started working towards a change in the party’s top leadership against the backdrop of a reported ban on Sheikh Hasina’s return to the country.
Some presidium members, organising secretaries and central leaders, mostly those who claim to have been sidelined in the last five years, are determined to see home the move to curtail the president’s ‘absolute’ control over the organisation, said an AL insider.

Some mid-level leaders said they too have heard about it. They described it as a conspiracy of some senior leaders which, they say, would never be successful.

“We won’t allow the conspiracy to succeed as we don’t want an Awami League without the daughter of Bangabandhu and people will never accept any leadership minus Hasina,” said an AL leader preferring anonymity.

The leaders who have long felt neglected and cornered are gaining strength of late by maintaining a close contact with a portion of the interim government. They are out to make the most of the AL being in disarray due to absence of Hasina, said sources.

In case the plan fails, some of them might join the much-speculated new political party to be formed with ‘relatively clean’ leaders of different parties, they added.

Sources close to the leaders favouring sweeping changes in the AL told The Daily Star that they want the non-controversial leaders with command down to the grassroots level to come to the fore in the changed circumstances.

In the last few days, Law and Information Adviser Mainul Hosein has repeatedly stressed the need for reforms in the political parties.

AL Presidium Member Suranjit Sengupta on Saturday spoke openly about reforms in the AL. He told Channel i and BBC Bangladesh Sanglap that laws should be there so that one person cannot hold the top post more than twice and head the party and the government at the same time.

Many leaders have taken the observations quite seriously. They said they believe those have been made deliberately and pointed at Sheikh Hasina.

Talking to The Daily Star, some of them said they are sure of a link between Suranjit’s comment and the ‘move’ to split the party and usurp the top posts.

Some others including General Secretary Abdul Jalil termed the statement ‘his personal views’ and said they have nothing to do with the party.

Other mid-level leaders said he should refrain from making such statements especially when the party chief is not around and there’s a pressure on the major political parties to replace the current leadership.

Reacting sharply to Suranjit’s remarks, many leaders of the AL and its front organisations have called Hasina, now in the UK, and reiterated their full support for her, said party sources.

Hasina later talked to some of her close aides at home and directed them to keep a close watch on the situation both in and outside the party.

But talking to The Daily Star, one of the leaders allegedly siding with the faction preparing to challenge Hasina, denied his involvement and said they are still loyal to the party president.

He explained that though the party is on a shaky ground for the military-backed government’s restriction on Hasina’s return and arrest of Presidium Member Kazi Zafrullah, things will change for the better once she gets back to the country.

He said the 60 years old organisation had seen off a number of serious crises, ups and downs, and conspiracies in the past.

A number of other leaders believe the changed situation has rather come as a blessing in disguise in that it is bridging the gap between the central leadership and those at the district and metropolitan levels. “Besides, we now feel more sympathetic towards our leader (Hasina) though we had criticised her over many issues in the past,” said a mid-level AL leader.

A senior AL leader claimed that every tier of the AL has become stronger than usual. Even the popular support for the party has increased. He said they are convinced that the trying times will be over soon.

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