Only PM and I know if there will be any surprise: Syed Ashraf

The Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam has said only party President Sheikh Hasina and he know whether the 20th National Council will spring a leadership surprise.

His comments come amidst congratulatory messages on the social media for Presidium Member Obaidul Quader who is rumoured to succeed Syed Ashraf and amid media reports that there will be a ‘surprise’ in the key post.

 “Maybe changes will come. The council can make any decision. But this is only a gossip– that’s what you can call this, nothing more,” he said at Sonargaon hotel in Dhaka on Friday evening when journalists drew him into the issue.

He went there to meet guests who will be attending the tw-day council beginning on Saturday.

“I know what will happen. None other than the prime minister and I know what is going to happen. After the thrill, you all will know what happened.”

But the night before the council, the general secretary hinted that there would not be too many changes in the leadership.

“In a democratic state system, councils don’t bring much change. This is incremental. New ones are inducted by taking out the old or ailing (leaders). But this new committee will have both old and young leaders.”

On Saturday, party chief and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will formally inaugurate the National Council.

The leadership to lead the grand old party into the future will be formed during the two-day meet.

Hasina has made it clear that the council will elect the next batch of leaders, but the party is depending on her to make the decisions. 

A few Quader loyalists have begun congratulating him as the new General Secretary on Facebook.

A party leader close to Quader told bdnews24.com on condition of anonymity on Thursday, "I spoke to him a while ago. He told me that the prime minister has given him the green signal."

He also said Hasina had called Quader prior to Wednesday's executive committee meet.

Quader himself has been on a continuous denial mode about the developments. He said he was being made to feel 'embarrassed' by such news.

Now in his second term as general secretary, Syed Ashraf took office in 2007 amidst a state of emergency, Hasina's arrest and the downslide in the careers of a number of senior leaders.

Son of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s close associate Syed Nazrul Islam, Ashraf gained the trust of Hasina by holding the party together during those turbulent times.

In 2009, after the Awami League formed government, Ashraf was handed the local government ministry, a portfolio he retained even after the 2014 elections. 

During his seven years as minister, he faced a plethora of criticism for not devoting adequate time to duties.

Last year, in a surprise move Hasina stripped him of his ministerial berth.

But amidst heavy criticism in the political arena, she re-installed him as a minister, this time as the public administration minister.