After gaining confidence from the fall of its main rival Awami League, the BNP is planning a major reorganisation over the next two months to get ready for the upcoming elections.
Party senior leaders said the restructuring of committees at various levels will start in November and is expected to continue through December in accordance with the directives of BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman.
While BNP leaders and activists are feeling hopeful after nearly a decade and a half of fatigue from political repression, legal battles and imprisonment, a sense of unease persists among its policymakers, as the interim government has yet to clarify precisely when the parliamentary elections will take place.
In the changing political scenario, senior party leaders see securing elections from the interim government as their foremost challenge.
Before launching various programmes to pressure the government to hold the elections as soon as possible, the BNP's top leaders are prioritising the strengthening and reorganisation of the party.
A BNP standing committee member, wishing to remain anonymous, said a difficult and distressing chapter for the BNP has come to a close with the ouster of Sheikh Hasina’s autocratic government, “However, there remains considerable uncertainty about when the elections will take place.”
“So, to achieve ultimate success and bring the party to power, the BNP must navigate various obstacles in the days ahead. We need to prepare our party not only for the election but also to tackle potential challenges. We are currently devising strategies to overcome these difficulties and ensure a fair, free, and impartial election,” he said.
The BNP leader noted that weaknesses at various levels of the party were identified during the unsuccessful movement leading up to the January 7 election. “As a result, the process of forming new committees after the elections had also begun. But that process faced some disruption due to the student-led mass movement. Now, efforts have been renewed to reinvigorate the party.”
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He said the party's policymakers have decided to dissolve the expired committees in BNP's 82 organisational districts. “Several of these committees have already been dissolved, and new committees will be formed there.”
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, now in Australia, said their party is always ready for elections, as it is a party with the potential to come to power.
“Those of us involved in BNP politics want to take responsibility for running the state and serving the people. We also do not have a shortage of suitable candidates in any constituency; we have four, five, or even 10 candidates per seat,” he said.
The BNP leader said that they are actively working to revitalise the party through various measures, including the reconstitution of committees across the party and its different units.
He said they are currently planning to launch a membership drive across the country, after which they will hold the national council ahead of the election. “I believe we should convene the council immediately to strengthen our electoral structure.”
BNP's Senior Joint Secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said that the reorganisation of the party is part of an ongoing process. “We are restructuring the party along with its various associate bodies and units, and this effort will be further intensified next month.”
Another BNP leader expressed concern that the party's high command is worried about the lack of visible efforts to withdraw approximately 1.41 lakh cases against over 50 lakh leaders and activists. “Our party’s most senior leaders have been implicated in false cases, and some have even been convicted.”
He said there were 37 cases against BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, who was released after the August 5 political changeover when the President suspended her sentences in two cases, but she still faces 35 cases.
Besides, the BNP leader mentioned that Tarique Rahman has 80 pending cases against him. “These cases should be withdrawn immediately so that we can adequately prepare for the election.”