After the Parliament elections of 5 January 2014, the district BNP was restricted to the old bus stand of the city. There, the police will stop any procession from the party office towards Alfat intersection within three or four minutes. One or two of them will give speeches and the program will end. But despite all these obstacles, the party leaders tried to complete all the programs announced by the Centre. It would be said in the city that there was a kind of understanding between the BNP and the police on this and hence the BNP never wanted to cross this line.
However, in the last two months, the BNP has emerged from these obstacles. After the grand rally in Dhaka, leaders and workers have organized many programs from the new bus terminal of the city to the old bus terminal. Many in the organization believe that the source of this strength in the BNP is unity among district leaders.
After talking to various levels of leaders and workers in the district BNP, it was revealed that at one time the leaders were divided into three groups. Those divisions have been resolved. Leaders now come to this office every day. Now there is no conflict or division within the leadership. All of them have been running the program together for about a year. Participation of leaders and workers has increased.
District BNP vice-president Abul Mansoor Mohammad Shaukat said leaders and workers are facing all kinds of harassment and repression. Ten leaders were arrested from the grand rally in Dhaka. There are cases against many. His focus now is on the movement. District BNP general secretary Nurul Islam told Prothom Alo that he had no time to think about anything else. There is only one way forward and that is free, fair and neutral elections. This must be ensured through movement.
District committee chairman and former Member of Parliament Kaleem Uddin Ahmed said that the Sangh, the upazila district and the central BNP are all now united in one thread. He said, “The power of the public is also with us. We have no weakness. We are close to the objective of our movement.”
