BNP struggling to revive party men’s morale

As violence during the 28 October grand rally foiled its movement strategy sending the party on the back foot and demoralising the rank and file, BNP is struggling to restore their morale while the opposition party enforces a three-day nationwide blockade from today to realise their one-point demand.

Party insiders said the grass roots leaders and activists of BNP who joined the rally in the capital became demoralised after violence left two people, including a policeman, dead and many others injured as they were not prepared for such an incident.

The party faces another setback as almost all the central leaders, including Standing Committee members, have gone into hiding to evade arrest in cases filed over the clashes that took place during the opposition party’s Dhaka rally.

The senior leaders’ going into hiding instead of taking to the streets for further movement has also made the grass roots unhappy.

However, a senior leader denied the allegation. “Our party leaders and activists are not demoralised. Armed attacks were carried out on our unarmed leaders and activists. We’ll continue our movement until the present government is ousted,” BNP Chairperson’s Adviser Habibur Rahman Habib said on Monday.

A total of 36 cases have been registered accusing 1,544 people in connection with the clash.

The cases have brought accusations of killing a policeman, exploding crude bombs with intent to kill, obstructing government work, vandalising the chief justice’s residence, arson, snatching weapons from police, etc.

Most of the plaintiffs in the case are police. A few victims have also filed some cases, according to the media cell of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).
Till 29 October, 28 cases were registered.

An analysis of the statements of eight cases filed in connection with the incidents on 28 October showed that most of the top leaders of the BNP have been accused in these cases.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has been sent to jail after being arrested in a case filed with Ramna police station regarding the vandalism of the chief justice’s residence.

He has been accused in at least four cases, including the one filed over the murder of the policeman.

Apart from Mirza Fakhrul, the list of accused includes BNP leader Mirza Abbas, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Abdul Awal Mintu, Barkatullah Bulu, Zainul Abdin Farroque, Joynal Abedin, Ahmed Azam Khan, Nitai Roy Chowdhury, Shamsuzzaman Dudu, Shahjahan Omar and Mahbub Uddin Khokon.

1,727 arrests in 9 days

DMP said 1,727 people were arrested in connection with law and order and violence in eight regions of DMP in nine days since 21 October. On 28 October, 696 were arrested, which is the single-day highest. In the two days before the rally, 542 people were arrested.

BNP enforced a dawn-to-dusk hartal across the country on Sunday while the party Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was arrested and sent to jail.

Police conducted drives at the residences of many other top leaders, including Standing Committee members Mirza Abbas and Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, but they were not found.

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, addressing a virtual press briefing from an undisclosed location on Sunday, announced a three-day nationwide road, rail and waterway blockade from today.

Habib said after the nationwide blockade, the party may announce indefinite hartal, which will continue until their demand for resignation of the present government for paving the way for the next general election to be held under a neutral caretaker administration is met. 

A number of rank-and-file leaders and activists of BNP, its front and associate organisations said they are unhappy with their senior leaders for lack of a proper and timely movement strategy and absence of necessary preparations for a tougher movement.

At the same time, they think the violence which left a police constable killed sent BNP on the back foot and demoralised the party men as they see no hope of any change in power.

“Our party leaders pushed us into death but they didn’t come to the front. Many of our party colleagues of our district were arrested by law enforcers. Why will we take the risk of our lives? Now we see no hope,” a union-level leader of Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal, the youth wing of BNP, from Sirajganj Sadar upazila said, wishing not to be named.

BNP sources said the party high command planned to announce siege to important state offices, including the secretariat, in phases from the rally. However, violence foiled the plan.

The party has formed a committee comprised of former police officers, lawyers and its leaders to carry out investigation into the violence.

In this situation, BNP sources said, the party high command is now trying to revive the morale of their leaders and activists through different ways.

As part of it, acting BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman is talking to the grass roots leaders over phone and giving them instructions about the movement.

BNP insiders said the party standing committee held a virtual meeting with Tarique Rahman on Sunday and decided to go for a hard line in their movement.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, which lost its registration with the Election Commission, has finally joined BNP’s simultaneously movement after maintaining a strategic distance for long.

The Jamaat’s participation in the simultaneous movement has also created mixed reactions among the party men and its other allies, the insiders said.