BNP�s new standing committee soon
RAFIQUL ISLAM AZAD
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) will announce the names of the members of its national standing committee very soon, including five new faces drawn mainly from the rank and file of its tested and dedicated activists, so as to impart fresh impetus to the partys top policymaking body. The chairperson could announce the membership of the new standing committee very soon, a highly placed source indicated. The new faces likely to be seen in the 19-member standing committee are: Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and Advocate Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, both advisers to the BNP chairperson, and BNP vice chairpersons Sadeque Hossain Khoka, Selima Rahman and Abdullah Al Noman, said the source.
Other leaders who are also probable candidates for the partys highest policymaking body include BNP vice chairpersons Maj. (retd) Hafiuddin Ahmed and Shah Moazzem Hossain and advisers to the BNP chairperson, barrister Shajahan Omar, Bir Uttom, and Dr Osman Faruk, the source added.
The chairperson has been looking for two leaders from Khulna and Rajshahi who can be inducted into the standing committee, but there are no senior party leaders from these regions who can be promoted to the partys highest body, according to sources close to the chairperson.
Three posts in the standing committee have become vacant following the death of the partys former secretary general Khondoker Delwar Hossain as well as the demises of Dr RA Ghani and Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury. Moreover, because of their ill health, two existing standing committee membersM Shamsul Islam and Sarwari Rahmanmay be replaced by new faces in the BNP chiefs advisory council, insiders said.
However, a senior leader said the chairperson, instead of dropping the two existing leaders from the standing committee, might create new posts to induct new faces. In that case, the number of standing committee members will rise to 21 from the present 19.
The newly elected secretary general, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, will be an ex-officio member of the standing committee, he added.
The leader also claimed that the party high command wants to announce the membership of the highest policymaking body within a day or two, since the committee will steer the party in its future course of action.
He said it might take more time in announcing the names of the National Executive Committee members, as the party chairperson will try to accommodate all eligible and acceptable leaders in the central body. The members of the National Executive Committee may be announced later this month or in May, he added.
Khaleda Zia was re-elected party chairperson uncontested. Her elder son, Tarique Rahman, was re-elected as the partys senior vice chairman without opposition. The councillors unanimously approved their appointment during the partys sixth national council on March 19.
The councillors also entrusted the party chairperson and senior vice chairman the responsibility of selecting the leaders of the central bodies, including the standing committee.As part of her responsibility, the chairperson has already appointed Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as the partys secretary general from acting secretary general and Ruhul Kabir Rizvi as senior joint secretary general, while Mizanur Rahman Sinha will continue as the partys treasurer.
Asked about the probable date of announcement of the list of members of the standing committee, Lt. Gen. (retd) Mahbubur Rahman, who is also a member of the highest policymaking forum, said it should be announced very soon, since the committee decides the partys policies and courses. It is better to announce the names of committee members as early as possible, he observed.
