by Nawaz Farhin Antara in Dhaka Tribune, ov 8, 20223
Active BNP leaders and activists are deciding on their own how to implement each program of the one-point movement in the absence of guidance from the party leadership. Grassroots activists are out of touch with BNP top-level leaders as most of them are on the run or have switched off their phones in fear of being jailed.
Leaders of the opposition party are outwardly confident in their movement to topple the government, but many grassroots activists and leaders think that the advance of the movement may boomerang on the BNP as the party is losing its ability to resist elections. BNP activists feel that such a prolonged blockade is eroding their strength, with most of the activists either under arrest or on the run.
If this continues and the BNP ends up boycotting the elections, then the movement will have been futile, grassroots leaders of the party said on condition of anonymity.
Due to the police action and lack of instructions, BNP leaders and activists are not in the field in most of the country’s districts. They are waiting for a more vigorous program under the guidance of central leaders.
Blockade programs are coming, but they don’t have a clear indication of how hard they will go, several grassroots BNP leaders said.
However, the party’s leaders have been claiming that even if many leaders are removed from the political arena by arrest or punishment in the case, it will not create any crisis within the party. They think that there is continuity of leadership in the party, and if someone is arrested, alternate leaders will shoulder the responsibility.
“We knew this could happen. The team is already prepared for this. Because of that, there will be no crisis in the party in arresting or punishing the leaders. Rather, the detained leaders will come out through the movement. Accordingly, the activists are aware of the advance directives. The movement will not stop or relax in any way,” said BNP standing committee member Selima Rahman.
Asadujjaman Sabuj, BNP organizing secretary in Golachipa Upazila, said: “We can’t contact the leaders. Everyone is in the same situation. I am on the run, staying in one place at night and in another place in the morning. Despite all this, we are in the field because we have to fight for our own survival whether there is any guidance or not. We see this as our last fight. So, if there is no one to guide us, each one of us will take on the role of a leader.”
A leader of Chittagong district said: “I am in hiding; I will be in the field on the day of the blockade, but I am not able to communicate with the activists. Similarly, we are not in touch with our senior leaders. However, we are carrying out the movement ourselves according to the plan, which can put us in double danger.”
Several sources have confirmed that after the 48-hour blockade that starts today, the BNP is going to engage in a non-stop or non-cooperation movement again from November 12. According to many fugitive BNP leaders, they are quite satisfied with the two-phase blockade program as they feel that despite the massive arrest of leaders and organizers from the union to the central level, the roads and highways were virtually immobile, and even in the capital city of Dhaka, traffic on the roads was “comparatively very less.”
BNP’s Legal Affairs Secretary Barrister Kayser Kamal said: “Due to the continuity of the leadership of the party, it will not be difficult for them to face this challenge. The leaders who can be candidates of the BNP in the upcoming parliamentary elections are being targeted and detained or punished through courts.”
According to party sources, BNP leaders and activists have called blockades in most of the country’s districts, including Dhaka, although the participation of activists was few.
While following the policy of avoiding arrest, the leaders are not keeping any kind of contact with grassroots activists. As a result, the program is not properly coordinated, and the collective presence of activists in the strike-blockade is decreasing. Among the senior leaders, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi with a handful of followers and the Chhatra Dal with its followers are holding protest marches in Dhaka.
https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/politics/330386/bnp-grassroots-taking-own-decisions
