Awami League president and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to direct the grassroots leaders to rejuvenate organizational activities through resolving intra-party feuds.
Insiders say that the party president may come up with the directive during a special extended meeting to be held at Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s official residence Ganabhaban at 10:30am today.
Issues like internal feud,
nomination of aspirants for the reserved seats in parliament, upcoming Upazila Parishad polls and overall political situation may be discussed, they say.
Members of the national committee, central working committee, advisory council, presidents and general secretaries of each district, city, upazila, thana, municipality, lawmakers of Awami League and independent MPs, mostly rebels, zilla and upazila parishad mayors who have been elected with AL ticket and presidents and general secretaries of central committee of AL associate bodies will join it with AL president Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
Responding to a question over the objective of the meeting, AL general secretary Obaidul Quader on Friday told reporters that they need firm unity in implementing the election manifesto.
“The independent candidates contested the last general elections because of the political strategy of the party. Some 62 of them have been elected and they belong to the Awami League. We have to go for the upazila parishad and municipality polls unitedly by resolving the intra-party feuds. Our leader and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will ask everyone to remain alert so that no violent activities take place during the polls,” he said.
AL insiders say that internal feuds marked a sharp rise following the AL’s decision of allowing the grassroots leaders to contest in the January 7 parliamentary elections.
Taking the opportunity, independent candidates, mostly grassroots leaders of the AL, vied for 181 seats out of 299 seats in the polls, and as many as 62 independent candidates became victorious, defeating the AL-backed candidates, resulting in acts of violence in many areas.
Though the election is over, the intra-party feud still lingers. Incidents of violence, expelling grassroots leaders without the acknowledgement of the AL central working committee and blaming each other are on in many areas, resulting in weakening the organizational activities.
Amid such a situation, Upzila parishad elections are drawing nearer.
Insiders fear that a fresh round of commotion may erupt at the grassroots centring the UZ polls as the party has decided not to award the party symbol to any candidate. As a result, a higher number of candidates will vie in the race.