Who will be next deputy of Awami League chief?

 

Anaet Shawon: As the next national council session of the ruling Awami League is scheduled to be held in December this year, speculation is ripe among its rank and file about who will be the deputy of party chief Sheikh Hasina.

Party insiders say it is very important to have a dynamic leader in the second most important position as various issues, including the next general election, will be dealt with by that leader.

As the next council session of the ruling party is approaching, there is speculation about who will be the next general secretary of the country’s oldest political organisation.

There is a discussion about whether the present general secretary will be re-elected or a new face will be chosen.

The incumbent general secretary is discharging his duty for the second consecutive term and his health is not enough satisfactory to tackle the next national election, party insiders say.

Although there is no formal announcement from anyone, contenders for the important post have already started lobbying for grabbing it.

Only eight months are left for the 22nd national triennial council of the ruling party as the tenure of the incumbent committee is going to expire in December this year.

Through the 21st council session held on December 20-21, 2019, Sheikh Hasina and Obaidul Quader were re-elected president and general secretary respectively.

AL General Secretary Obaidul Quader has recently hinted that the 22nd national council of the party will be held in December next. “We hold the council every three years, so we’re scheduled to hold it in December. We’re preparing for that council,” he said.

“In the meantime, councils of organisational units are being held at all levels of districts, Upazilas and unions across the country,” he added.

Aspirants are making hectic efforts to draw the attention of party President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and other top leaders through expediting organizational activities and getting in touch with all tiers of party leaders.

Work is going on to complete the council sessions of its grassroots units across the country by mitigating all sorts of internal conflicts.

Party insiders said there is no scope of change in the post of president as there is no alternative to Sheikh Hasina.

There is speculation that a person linked to the family of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman may come to the general secretary post. However, similar speculations had surfaced in the past too, but those proved wrong.

Any one of the two AL Presidium members -- Jahangir Kabir Nanak and Abdur Rahman -- could be appointed as general secretary of the party, said, insiders.

Several other leaders are also showing their interest to grab the post. Those who are in the race include joint general secretaries Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif, Hasan Mahmud and AFM Bahauddin Nasim, and organising secretary Mirza Azam.

Party insiders say before the 2019 council session, some names, including Abdur Razzaque, Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury and Abu Sayeed Al Mahmood Swapon, had been heard as the probable picks for the general secretary post. They are also in the race this time.

AL insiders said a leader who is not a Cabinet member will be chosen for the general secretary post as part of the party’s stance to keep the organisation and the government separate.

Such an effort had been made before the 21st council session too, and several central leaders who were appointed to the cabinet lost their party posts.

Many of those who were dropped from the cabinet in 2018 were given posts within the party.

According to the party constitution, councillors are responsible for choosing leadership but they have always bestowed the responsibility on the party president.

So who will be the next general secretary depending on the decision of the Awami League president?

According to party sources, the party president who usually gives a hint in this regard is yet to indicate who will be the party’s general secretary this time.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is the longest-serving president of the Awami League.

She has been serving as the AL chief for more than 41 years since her election to the post in 1981.

Dhaka, 04 June (campuslive24.com)//BIT

 

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