Bikalkpadhara Bangladesh chief AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury has rolled out a new political alliance, ‘Jukta Front’, after a meeting at JSD President ASM Abdur Rab’s residence in Dhaka.
In the new coalition, Bikalpadhara has Rab’s Jatiya Samajtantrik DAL-JSD, Abdul Kader Siddique-headed Krishak Sramik Janata League and Mahmudur Rahman Manna’s Nagorik Oikya as partners.
Badruddoza said uniting the people on the demand for free and fair elections under a ‘neutral’ government would be their ‘first target’.
Former president Badruddoza, who formed his party after ditching the BNP, had floated an alliance, NDF, with Kader Siddique and Rab before the 2014 general elections, but boycotted the balloting as did the BNP.
The BNP stayed away from the vote as its demand for a neutral caretaker government to oversee the parliamentary polls were ignored, while the NDF said it would not take part in an election without everyone’s participation.
Ahead of the 11th parliamentary polls, which are scheduled between late 2018 and early 2019, they were moving to form a new alliance again for quite some time.
After police gatecrashed their meeting at Rab’s house recently, they sat at Badruddoza’s Baridhara residence.
Kader Siddique was absent in the past two meetings of these parties but attended Monday’s one.
Rab, now a critic of the Awami League government, was close to military ruler HM Ershad and later a minister in Sheikh Hasina’s 1996 cabinet.
Besides Badruddoza, Kader Siddique, Rab, and Manna, Bikalpadhara Secretary General Abdul Mannan, Joint Secretary General Mahi B Chowdhury, JSD General Secretary Abdul Malek Ratan, Krishak Sramik Janata League General Secretary Habibur Rahman Habib and Nagorik Oikya coordinator Shahidullah Kaiser attended the meeting held from evening until around 10pm.
After the meeting, Badruddoza told bdnews24.com: “The new alliance with the name ‘Jukta Front’ has been announced.
“We will unite the people from across the country in order to hold a free and fair election under a neutral government. This will be our first job,” he said.
Badruddoza will be convenor of the new alliance while Manna will be member secretary for now.
Manna told bdnews24.com that the ‘Jukta Front’ would set its structure and scope of work after discussions.
Rab said they would announce details of the new alliance at a media briefing ‘in due time’.
Rab, now a critic of the Awami League government, was close to military ruler HM Ershad and later a minister in Sheikh Hasina’s 1996 cabinet.
Manna, a former leader of Rab’s JSD, lost his post of organising secretary in the Awami League after being marked as a reformist during the military-controlled caretaker government’s tenure.
Kader Siddique, a freedom fighter decorated with the title Bir Uttam, was also involved with the Awami League. He formed his own party after leaving the Awami League two decades ago.
Badruddoza, the founding secretary general of the BNP, became a minister when the party came to power with Khaleda Zia as prime minister in 1991.
He became president of Bangladesh when the BNP returned to power in 2001, but had to leave the post shortly after taking oath.
Source: Ndnews24.
Since independence, people virtually is not required to elect a parliament looking after their interest. Government of Mujib tolerated corruption by a group of plundering politician, their cronies and business man, Zia institutionalised corruption & Ershad gave corruption a respectability. Subsequently the two leading elitist political parties combined them and the incumbent one has taken corruption at its height. Nation is now united by corruption general people and the civic society are condoning it out of fear for being killed or jailed. Whatever political grouping you make you will not be trusted as you are politicians.People sticks to their chosen elitist leader/party like a herd of sheep with blind loyalty and mindless obedience. People has seen the character of all predatory Governments one after another. They fought and gave their lives for a Bangladesh Sovereign,free democratic, secular, socialistic and non-aligned in foreign policy. But their cherished dream has been quashed by every subsequent government. They have seen the arrogant and colonializing behaviour of political leaders. How you are going to reach their mind. I am sure Manna was young and has the capacity of standing as a national leader and hiss Oikya parishad was shaping well when he became greedy before the time is right to stand in Mayoral election and fell into a trap. I don’t know he has become matured enough now. Rob is hopping from party to party for a ministry and his behaviour has become questionable. Vader Siddiqui, like his sister is inspired by an ambitious “I”-personal ego. The party has to go out to every village (68000?), meet people in small gatherings (big meetings will be attacked and disrupted. For cities and media you need people like Mahmudur Rahman. In judicial arena you need Dr. Kamal Hussain. The left parties had valuable contribution in defeating the fascist govt. by playing hide and seek game in harassing Ershad’s army. You must combine such willing young forces in every area of Dhaka and all major cities. The adversary is cunning and repressive, they will fill the jail with your workers and kill or enforce disappearance, For every murder they will put an innocent in jail, for every bus or truck they burn they will put the blame on you. Media has lost honesty and is also controlled. Your Jukta Front must be all inclusive including the prominent cultural groups. Success will not be easy.