Ehsanul Haque Jasim :Many BNP leaders have suggested their chief to take step of forming a `new BNP` instead of making the 20-party alliance effective. The BNP high-command also thinks to opt for a mass movement alone in future. The alliance partners have no headache in this regard. They want to consolidate their positions from their own position, sources said. The sources also said, the BNP would not make any announcement about breaking the alliance, but the alliance may not be discussed in future. Several alliance leaders said that their own parties have to be strengthened at first to launch a fresh and effective movement against the government. Some BNP leaders are of the opinion that there is no need of the 20-party alliance right now. Some of them at a rally in the city on Thursday expressed views in favour of dissolving BNP-led alliance. The party chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia was present at the time. BNP chairperson’s adviser Shahjahan Omar at the rally suggested Khaleda Zia to urge the components either to merge with BNP or to carry out simultaneous movement. He said that many BNP leaders remained inactive thinking that they might not get party nominations in general election due to sharing of seats with the alliance partners. In response, chairman of Bangladesh Kalyan Party Syed Muhammad Ibrahim Birpratik said that BNP would lose ’95 points out of 100′ if the alliance is dissolved.Talking to The New Nation on Friday, BNP standing committee member Lt General (retd) Mahbubur Rahman said that he supports the views of Shahjahan Omar. “The BNP, founded by Ziaur Rahman, is a popular party and it came to power for several times without others’ help. The party does not need help of other parties at present,” he said. He, however, said that the 20-party alliance is now virtually ineffective. When asked, chairman of Islami Oikya Jote Maulana Abdul Latid Nejami said, “If they (BNP) take stand against the alliance politics, what we have to do? We won’t take the responsibility of dissolving the alliance.” The BNP-led alliance started its journey in 1999 under the name of ‘Four-Party Alliance’ with the declaration of forging united movement and forming coalition government. The alliance started its fresh journey under the name of ’18-Party Alliance’ on April 18 in 2012 with the declaration of ‘only movement for caretaker government issue’. Later, two other parties joined fold of the alliance. “As declaration of the 20-party alliance was the movement only, the alliance started its journey with poor commitment. We have no headache to make the alliance effective. If any united movement of the 20-party alliance is successful, BNP will only take the benefit. Why we will fight for the BNP,” said an alliance leader. According to reliable source, BNP and its key ally–Jamaat-e-Islami have been maintaining silent distance from each other for several months. The gap between the two parties is widening, while some sort of frustration gripped the other alliance partners. “A cold war has been continuing between the BNP and the Jamaat. The other partners are also not happy with the two main parties,” said some leaders and workers of the alliance. It was known that BNP is now under pressure from several quarters to cut ties with Jamaat. Many BNP leaders believe that it is the time to cut ties with Jamaat, as the party is being marked as anti-liberation force. However, BNP has realised that strengthening the party is the only way for its visible return to the political landscape. So the party is planning to reshuffle the party from the grassroots to the standing committee.When asked, BNP chairperson’s adviser Advocate Ahmed Azam Khan said that the 20-party alliance is not an ideological alliance. Hinting at the distance with Jamaat and some others, he said, as there is no street programme in the present, so it should not be said that whether the 20-party alliance will function or not in future. The party high command will take decision in this regard after reorganising the party, he added. On the other hand, Jamaat now wants to walk singly, as the party believes that they can sow the anti-Awami League sentiments if BNP fails in the politics. The rate of votes in the city polls and the upazila polls of 2014 also encouraged the party’s central leaders to maintain silent distance with the BNP. A Jamaat leader said that the Jamaat’s performance was good in the city polls and the upazila polls than the BNP.
