11 components skip maiden meeting

Eleven components of the Jatiya Party-led 58-party alliance did not attend yesterday's maiden meeting of the newly formed coalition at JP Chief Ershad's Banani office. 

Several leaders of the 11 parties said they would soon officially announce that they are no longer with the “United National Alliance (UNA)”, country's biggest-ever electoral alliance, counting mainly on name-only Islamist parties.

Formed on May 7, the coalition has only two parties registered with the Election Commission -- Jatiya Party and Bangladesh Islami Front.

The new coalition includes 34 Islamist parties under the banner of “National Islamic Grand Alliance (NIGA)” with Abu Naser Wahed Faruk as its chief. UNA also took 22 parties of Bangladesh National Alliance (BNA).

Eleven political parties which did not participate in yesterday's meeting are partners in BNA. 

BNA was earlier led by former BNP leader Nazmul Huda. But he was removed from BNA on April 5 and Sekandar Ali Moni became its chief. 

Due to internal conflict centering establishing supremacy in the alliance, BNA on May 17 removed Moni from the chairman post and made Gono Jagoron Party's Chairman Selim Haider and Amjanata Party's Chief Banjir Ahmed as BNA's new Chairman and Secretary respectively. Gono Adhikar Party Chief Hossain Mollah was made BNA's spokesperson. 

After a split in BNA, its new leaders on Sunday called on JP Chief HM Ershad's Political and Press Secretary Sunil Suvho Roy at the JP chief's Banani office to inform him about BNA's latest development.

New leaders of BNA asked Sunil to treat them as valid leaders of BNA instead of Moni, sources said.

“But Sunil informed us that Moni [Sekandar Ali Moni] and three other top leaders of the alliance [UNA] singed in the declaration of the alliance as individuals, not as chiefs of their respective parties or alliances,” said BNA spokesperson Hossain.

Hossain also said they had informed Sunil that the eleven parties would no longer be a part of UNA. There are actually 14 parties in BNA, not 22 as claimed by Moni, said Hossain. 

Asked, ABM Ruhul Amin Hawlader, secretary general of JP and chief spokesperson of UNA, said there might be some misunderstandings among different components of BNA. “But we have asked them to resolve their internal dispute.”

Hawlader claimed that top leaders of all components in the 58-party alliance were present at UNA's first meeting.

Meanwhile, tensions flared up among different components in “National Islamic Grand Alliance,” a partner in the JP-led UNA, sources said.

NIGA, consisting of 34 Islamic organisations, got divided into two factions on Tuesday following internal conflict, sources said.

After a meeting at a city restaurant, Abu Naser Wahed Faruk was removed from NIGA's chief and made Khaja Mohibullah Santipuri as its new chief. Asked, Abu Naser said he is still chairman of NIGA.