The Bangladesh Nationalist Party is scheduled for today to hold its national conference and sixth national council session.
The party is likely to amend its constitution at the council session paving ways to induct young and energetic activists into the leadership, party leaders said.
They, however, said that a move for creating positions of a co-chairman and an additional secretary general was cancelled.
All eyes of the BNP leaders and activists are mainly on the next secretary general, vital executive post of the party, while election to no position is likely to be held at the council session, party leaders said.
BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia and her eldest son Tarique Rahman have already been re-elected uncontested BNP chairperson and senior vice-chairman respectively for the next three years.
The new secretary general might be named at the council session while the announcement of other members of the central executive committee might take some days, said a standing committee member.
He said that usually councillors at the council session empowered the party chairperson to form the new national executive committee and other committees.
Khaleda is scheduled for 10:00am today to inaugurate the conference and national council session at Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh in the capital.
The party also set up chairs for delegates for the conference at Suhrawardy Udyan adjacent to the institution as the authorities on Wednesday permitted the party to use the portion of Suhrawardy Udyan for its conference.
Tarique, who has been staying in London since 2008, would address the inaugural session of the conference through video-conference, party leaders said.
BNP leaders and activists are expecting dynamic and promising leadership to come up from the triennial council session that is taking place after six years.
Sensing the ground reality the BNP standing committee has approved amendments to the party constitution creating specialised advisory committee and more positions in the national executive committee, the party leaders said.
They said that a move had been initiated by some influential leaders close to Tarique to create positions of a co-chairman abolishing the post of senior vice-chairman and an additional secretary general.
Many leaders alleged that the main purposes of the move were to appease Tarique making him co-chairman, strengthen him weakening Khaleda and weaken the secretary general making additional secretary general a leader chosen by Tarique.
The proposals were discussed at the national council session preparatory sub-committee for amendment to the party constitution and manifesto, subcommittee members said.
The proposals, however, were not placed before the last meeting of the outgoing standing committee, the party’s highest policymaking body, on Thursday night, said a standing committee member.
The meeting gave nod to some amendments to the party constitution including increasing the posts of vice-chairman to 35 from the existing 17, make positions of assistant secretaries to all secretarial posts and formation of subject-wise committees, party leaders said.
The proposed amendment also proposed that none of the office bearers could hold the posts of president or general secretary in the party’s lower tiers including district and upazila units, said a standing committee member.
The proposed amendments would be placed before the council session for final approval.
BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, also the convener of the council preparatory sub-committee for communication, at a briefing at the party central office on Friday said all preparations for the conference and the council session were at the final stage.
He said that councillors and delegates already arrived in Dhaka.
He said that the council session would be an epoch making event in the national politics and would intensify the current movement for democracy.
The BNP leader sought cooperation from authorities concerned for a successful completion of the council session.
Asked whether first phase of union parishad polls scheduled for March 22 would discourage party men to join the council session, he replied in negative.
The fifth national council session of BNP was held on December 8, 2009.
Source: New Age
