Main opposition Jatiya Party has fallen in trouble again amid a rift between the two senior leaders—-incumbent chairman GM Quader, younger brother of party founder HM Ershad, and chief patron Raushan Ershad, widow of Ershad.
GM Quader is representing the JP in parliament and he has also been made the opposition leader of the House.
After the formation of the party, the party has so far been divided into five factions over serious disagreements among the senior leaders.
The factions are Jatiya Party (Ershad), Jatiya Party (Raushan), Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP-Partha), Jatiya Party (JP-Manju) and Jatiya Party (Kazi Zafar).
JP’s two senior leader Kazi Firoz Rashid and Syed Abu Hossain Babla joined the Raushan led faction.
Amid internal conflict, GM Quader on January 12 relived Firoz Rashid and presidium member Sunil Shubha Roy. Firoz Rashid refrained from contesting the January 7 polls while Babla suffered a defeat after contesting the polls from Dhaka-4 constituency. As Babla joined Ershad led faction, GM Quader relieved him on Sunday.
The fresh one Jatiya Party (Raushon) emerged recently after its chief patron Raushan Ershad declared herself as chairman of the party following the party’s debacle in the January 7 general elections.
Raushan Erashad, who was the opposition leader in in 11th
parliament, also relieved JP chairman GM Quader and secretary general Mujibul Haque Chunnu from their respective posts.
Addressing a press briefing on Sunday, Raushan Ershad introduced Firoz Rashid and Babla and announced a fresh date for the council session and formed a committee for the purpose. The JP will hold its 10th council session on March 9.
They are two prominent leaders who have played significant roles since the JP’s inception. Both of them faced torture and languished in jail for the Jatiya Party, she said.
In her written statement, Raushan expressed her gratitude to the leaders for getting support after taking the helm of the party.
“Our beloved party has fallen in trouble. Amid demand of the leaders and activists, I have taken charge of the party with a view to overcoming the situation and reorganising the organisation,” she said.
She said Firoz Rashid will act as the convener while Syed Abu Hossain Babla will act as co-convener, Golam Sarwar Milion as joint convener, Shafiqul Islam Sentu as member secretary and Ziaul Haque Mridha will discharge the responsibility as treasurer.
Raushan Ershad urged all to contact with secretary general Kazi Mohammad Mamunur Rashid for any organisational issue and Sunil Shubha Roy for any piece of information.
Meanwhile, the JP (Ershad) secretary general Mujibul Haque Chunnu on Sunday said that they did not convene the council session.
“We do not have any relations with the outsiders who have convened the council session,” Chunnu, also the chief whip of the opposition, said.
Asked about factions, he said there are four to five factions of the party.
“One more factions may be formed. Everyone has the liberty to leave the party. It may yield a positive result or a negative result,” he said.