No committee in BCL general secretary’s Barishal city for 1 year, district unit unchanged for 17 years

The existing district committee, which was supposed to be in term for two years, has been running for the past 17 years

The ruling Awami League’s student wing Bangladesh Chhatra League must hold a council and form new committees in each unit every two years, but that rule is rarely followed.

In Barishal, the home city of its central General Secretary Sheikh Wali Asif Enan, BCL has had no committee for over a year.

The situation is worse in Barishal district, where the existing committee has been running the unit for 17 years.

Some members of the committee have since been appointed to positions in the Awami League.

According to the grassroots leaders and activists of the Chhatra League, the activities of the organisation have been sluggish for years due to the issues related to the local committees.

Now, they see no hope of a new council any time soon.

The BCL has no office in Barishal City either. The leaders are often seen using the Awami League’s office on the bank of Bibi Pukur.

bdnews24.com interviewed 10 leaders at the district and metropolitan levels and seven former leaders to learn the issues.

They said the local Chhatra League is now divided into three main factions.

Although the BCL has leaders who are willing to take responsibility, they are unable to form a committee because of these factions’ unwillingness to compromise.

The BCL leaders and activists now work for former city corporation mayor and Metropolitan Awami League General Secretary Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah, former state minister for water resources and local MP Zaheed Farooque Shamim, and current Mayor Abul Khair Abdullah alias Khokon Serniabat.

The supporters of Sadiq Abdullah have dominated the district and metropolitan committees for a long time.

However, the influence of the supporters of the other two factions increased following the city corporation elections last year.

After Sadiq Abdullah fell out of the nomination last year, the BCL lot has begun favouring Khokon Serniabat, Sadiq’s uncle.

The political conflict between the family is a widely discussed issue in the politics of Barishal.

Imran Hossain Riaz, Barishal Sadar Upazila Chhatra League’s No.1 joint convener, who is also a supporter of MP Zaheed, said: “No council is being held because no one of the three factions is willing to compromise.”

Abdur Razzak, general secretary of Barishal District Chhatra League, said: “The BCL committee has been running for the last 17 years. Committee President Hemayet Uddin Serniabat became the office secretary of the metropolitan Awami League four years ago.”

“We have all the preparations we need to hold a council. But I don’t know why it is not being held,” he added.

In 2011, BCL formed the city committee with three positions declared at the time – President Jashim Uddin, General Secretary Asim Dewan, and Organising Secretary Toushik Ahmed.

After the three-strong committee ran the unit for 10 years, the central leaders dissolved it in May 2021.

In July 2022, a 29-member committee was formed under the leadership of Raiz Ahmed Manna.

The committee, which was set for three months, was later dissolved after 11 months after two activists campaigning for Khokon in the city polls received death threats.

Raiz and his associates were named in a general diary over the incident. They were arrested in another case filed a week later on May 15 over an attack on Khokon’s supporters.

The following day, Chhatra League Central President Saddam Hussain and General Secretary Enan dissolved the committee at a press conference following “Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s instructions to speed up the activities of the organisation”.

Former president of Barishal Metropolitan Chhatra League, Jashim Uddin, has described the absence of a committee for more than a year as “stopping a moving train”.

Jashim, who rose from student politics, was elected as the vice-chairman of Barishal Sadar Upazila recently.

The majority of the Awami League’s central committee leaders, including Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Balram Poddar, and Shammi Ahmed, began their political career through Barishal Chhatra League. They are now appointed by the ruling party for crucial roles, including those of ministers.

Now, according to Jashim, the number of BCL activists and leaders are reducing by the day in Barishal.

“Chhatra League is a moving train. Stopping that train makes it difficult to commence its journey again. There are no leaders or workers who can lead. We may not understand the consequences now but we surely will in the future,” he said.

“All the workers want the council to be held soon. However, no committee can be formed with non-student members or leaders from outside of the organisation. Central leaders should take a prompt decision on the matter.”

Barishal District Council Chairman and Metropolitan Awami League President AKM Jahangir said, “The dissolved committee of BCL is running operations in 30 wards. They are trying to keep the organisation active.”

“However, problems do surface since there is no committee. We are trying to settle the issue,” added Jahangir.

Rezwanur Rahman Neon, a candidate for the Barishal Metropolitan Chhatra League committee, told bdnews24.com: “We want the committee to be formed soon. The organisation should be dynamic again. We have confidence in the words of Sheikh Wali Asif Enan. He will form the committee soon.”

However, another BCL leader said: “They form committees by appointing people who are close to powerful political figures in the locality.”

“The number of leaders and activists of BCL has increased in Barishal. However, while forming the committee, the leaders request the central BCL committee to appoint their supporters to the committee. Then, the central committee faces trouble because they don’t want to offend anyone. Maybe this is why they have become silent,” he added.

Afzalul Karim, the senior vice-president of Barishal Metropolitan Awami League, told bdnews24.com: “We have the former president of the BCL’s central committee, Al Nahiyan Khan Joy, and the current General Secretary, Sheikh Wali Asif Enan, as our leaders. But there is still no committee. This is sad.”

“Only the central leaders of BCL will be able to tell why the committee doesn’t exist,” said Afzalul.

He alleged a political group in Barishal Awami League do not want to give leadership to those supporting a rebel candidate

“The central leaders should resolve the issue by forming a committee quickly.”

When speaking of the absence of a BCL committee in his home city, Enan said that the situation was “embarrassing”.

“We will try to form a committee as soon as possible.”