Former Chhatra League leaders get busy to choose new president, general secretary

Former leaders of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) have begun brainstorming to choose the new president and general secretary of the Awami League's student wing amid its National Convention.

They have held a number of meetings since Saturday noon in and around the ruling party President Sheikh Hasina's Dhanmondi political office in Dhaka.
 
BCL's current and former presidents and general secretaries held one of them at that office around 4:30pm.
 
An hour and a half long, the meeting only discussed finding a suitable new leadership, sources said.
 
The 28th National Convention that started on Saturday after a two-year gap will end on Sunday.
 
Some of the aspirants have claimed that it was impossible to get posts in the committee without the ‘blessings’ of the ‘syndicate’ of former president Liakat Shikdar.
 

Liakat Shikdar, File Photo

An Awami League leader, asking not to be named, told

bdnews24.com on Saturday: "Liakat is becoming another Auranga. His followers say that (Prime Minister) Sheikh Hasina now listens to him. Sajeeb Wazed Joy will also listen to him."

Former Shariatpur lawmaker KM Hemayet Ullah Auranga, who died in a road accident in 2013, is said to have controlled Chhatra League's 'Shariatpur-Madaripur Group' in the Dhaka University unit in the 1980s.

Auranga, who also served as the Central Committee organising secretary, was criticised then for his alleged involvement in terrorism, grabbing and extortion.

Apart from current President Badiuzzaman Shohag and General Secretary Siddiqui Nazmul Alam, former leaders who attended the Saturday afternoon meeting included Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, Prime Minister Hasina's Personal Assistant Saifuzzaman Shekhor, Awami League's Organising Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Bahadur Bepari, Liakat Shikdar, Enamul Haque Shamim, Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury and others.

One of the attendees, seeking anonymity, said they would meet party chief Hasina later at night and inform her about the leaders they would ideally like heading BCL.

The president and general secretary aspirants, meanwhile, have sought support from the councillors of different district units.

Sheikh Hasina earlier in the morning had opened the National Convention at Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital.

She suggested electing the new leadership through voting. "Chhatra League's new leaders will be elected through votes. No one will select them."

"The Chhatra League councillors will vote for the persons they want to be elected."

Councillors from 110 district-level units, nine of which are in other countries run by expatriate Awami League supporters, are attending the ongoing the Council.