No one from outside Shikdar’s syndicate ever made it to the central committee since 2006, say aspirants

Ruling Awami League student affiliate Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) is set to elect a new leadership but its former chief, Liakat Shikdar, appears to be casting a shadow on the proceedings.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 24 July 2015, 08:37 AM
Updated : 25 July 2015, 09:21 AM

Some claim it is impossible to get posts in the committee without the ‘blessings’ of Shikdar’s ‘syndicate’ – an allegation the former BCL chief, who led the student body a decade ago, trashes as ‘propaganda’.

The BCL’s 28th National Council will be held on July 25-26 after a two-year gap.

The BCL often made headlines with its factional clashes in universities after the Awami League came to power, drawing criticism from various quarters.

Its current chief, Badiuzzaman Shohag, had said at an event last year that many were misusing the BCL’s name for personal ends.

Liakat Shikdar,File Photo

A BCL leader told bdnews24.com that many dedicated leaders had been sidelined with the present committee overstaying in office for two years.

The BCL constitution provides for elections every two years to elect a new set of leaders.

Allegations are that Shohag and General Secretary Siddiqui Nazmul Alam were deliberately stalling the council.

“Besides, there’s that syndicate. The Chhatra League will not find an able leadership until the syndicate is eradicated,” said a BCL leader, choosing to remain anonymous.

Some pointed fingers at Shikder, who led the BCL between 2002 and 2006, when quizzed about the ‘syndicate’.

Many of those aspiring for a place in the new committee ducked the question, saying they were in no mood to speak their mind before the election.

“The posts were decided the night before the Ripon-Roton committee (the previous one) was elected,” one of them claimed. “The same thing had happened in the case of the present one.”

“No one from outside Shikdar’s syndicate has been part of the central committee since 2006. It is unlikely that things will change this time,” he added.

Monwarul Islam Masud, the present BCL senior vice president, alleged Shikdar was interfering with the student body’s functioning.

“In the last council, he had initially supported the Masud-Rahat panel but later helped the Shohag-Najmul panel win, realising he wouldn’t be able to manipulate us,” he claimed.

He alleged Shikdar involved BCL leaders and activists from his syndicate in tender bids for his personal gain.

Some claimed many aspirants of the new committee had been visiting Shikdar’s Shegun Bagicha residence and office.

“I can’t turn anyone back if they come to seek my advice for being a former Chhatra League president,” he said.

About the ‘syndicate’, he said, “A section with vested interests is trying to defame me. It is baseless. There’s no syndicate in Chhatra League.”

BCL chief Shohag and General Secretary Alam, too, persistently rejected allegations about a ‘syndicate’ in the student front.

Last month, a group of BCL activists fired shots and tried to break the gate of Shikdar’s house after committees of the Dhaka metropolitan north and south units were announced.

It is not yet clear if the new committee would be formed on the basis of an understanding or emerge through an unfettered election by the councillors.

Shohag said they would initially try to reach an understanding on the posts of the president and general secretary.

“If this fails, the councillors will elect the top leadership,” he explained to bdnews24.com.

Former BCL chief Bahadur Bepari said that was the norm.

There will be 25 councillors each from 101 organisational districts, Shohag said.