The ruling Awami League’s (AL) vaunted student front, the Bangladesh Chhatra League, is set to gain new leadership through its 29th council, to be held May 11-12. Yet even this close to the date, uncertainty persists over the process whereby the new leaders will be chosen. Specifically, whether they will be elected, or selected.
The original two-year tenure of the current BCL committee, led by Saifur Rahman Sohag and SM Jakir Hossain, formed through the 28th national council in 2015, expired on July 26 last year.
Meanwhile the Councils of vital units of BCL like Dhaka University (DU), Dhaka North and South were held, but no committees were announced. An allegation had arisen ahead of the council that a syndicate of former BCL leaders led by its former president Liakat Shikdar, who led the organization between 2002 and 2006, has been playing an outsized role in the process of leaders being elected through councillor’s votes – effectively rendering the voting process meaningless. Thus in the 28th Council, only one panel-of Sohag-Jakir-contested the election and won with 95 percent of the total votes cast. They were nominated by Shikdar, and got full support from then-outgoing BCL president HM Badiuzzaman Sohag and general secretary Siddiqui Nazmul Alam. Against this background, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s statement
last Monday (April 30) during a party meeting at her official residence Ganabhaban had thrown the spanner in the works. “No election would be held for electing the new leaders of BCL. The new leaders would be named after considering their quality of leadership, intellect and family background,” the prime minister was reported to have said, by meeting sources in sections of the media. However the PM herself walked back these comments just days later at her Ganabhaban press conference, where she held open the possibility of the choice going to a vote, in the event of “a failure to reach a compromise”. “There’ll be a meeting with the participation of all to reach a compromise. If there’s no compromise, it’ll go to vote (to elect leaders of BCL committee),” she said replying to a question.
BCL general secretary SM Jakir Hossain told UNB “PM’s decision in selecting next tenure’s BCL leaders would be final as she is the guardian of the ruling party’s student wing. But we will take all kinds of preparation for both election and selection.” Asked about the qualifications being sought in the next next committee’s leaders, current general secretary said, “Qualified and talented candidates would be holding the leading posts, those who believe in Bangabandhu’s ideology.” In previous councils it was seen that a DU student usually get the leading post and two of the leading positions, from the central and DU units, go to activists from Barishal and Faridpur regions. Other leaders were chosen from other regions of the country. Nazrul Islam Babu, former general secretary of BCL, told UNB, “Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will select the leader on the basis of the qualification this council. She will give the leadership to someone who is activist-friendly, has a clean image and is reliable.” “I don’t think institution or region are factors for selecting leaders. If anyone is qualified for the post, regardless of any institution, he will be the president or general secretary.” The uncertainty over the procedure only adds to the number of aspirants for president and general secretary still lobbying the high-ups of the Awami League and influential former leaders of BCL to secure the posts. Current BCL central vice-presidents Aditya Nandee, Arefin Siddique Sujon and Chaitali Halder Chaity, organising secretaries Ashikul Pathan Setu and Shawkatuzzaman Saikat, law secretary Al Nahiyan Khan Joy, along with DU Unit general secretary Motahar Hossain Prince are just some of the names doing the rounds that are being favoured for the president and general secretary posts in the lead-up to the council. Besides, BCL DU Unit president Abid Al Hasan, Central vice-president Mehedi Hasan Rony and Joint secretary Sayem Khan are also expected to be in the fray, if the age limit for the posts is set at 29 rather than 27.
