leadnews.Dhaka,25May 2026, Mahtabur Rahman:

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has been out of power for more than a decade and a half. The party has had to overcome numerous adversities along the way.

One of the major political parties in Bangladesh, millions of leaders and activists have gone through lawsuits, attacks, imprisonment and socio-economic tensions. However, after this long movement and struggle, the biggest anger and psychological crisis that has emerged within the party in the present time is the ‘devaluation of defected leaders and activists’ and the growing influence of neo-opportunists or ‘milk flies’ in the party.

Talking to political analysts and party field leaders and activists, a multidimensional picture of this crisis has emerged. The same picture is everywhere, from the grassroots to the center.

The martyrs are also being deprived in the committee formation process. Not only that, but the martyrdom anniversary of former president and martyred President Ziaur Rahman has been observed with utmost importance despite various adversities.

But even though BNP is celebrating the martyrdom anniversary after 17 years of being close to power, those concerned said that hybrids are at the forefront, keeping the martyrs away from these programs.

In this regard, Ali Arshad Mamun, the founding president of Chhatra Dal of former Ward No. 10 (currently Ward No. 14) of Dhaka Metropolitan North, said, “Abul Khair Bhuiyan was the president of the Greater Metropolitan Chhatra Dal. I led the movement and struggle under his leadership. After that, I served as the organizing secretary of Ward No. 94 of BNP, general secretary, president and in various positions of Thana BNP. I never backed down.”

Not only that, during the One-Eleven, the police arrested me in front of Ziaur Rahman’s tomb during the movement to free Khaleda Zia. I served a long time in prison. But the party did not evaluate us. On the contrary, most of those who are talking about the party today are hybrids. They have been compromising with the Awami League for 17 years.

This joint convener of Kafrul Thana BNP said, “Party posts were also taken away for a long time. But before Milton Saheb was elected, several of us were brought back to the posts. The posts are in name only, they are not mentioned properly in any program. The movement of hybrids has increased, the defectors have become cornered within the party.”

He said, “I will go to Ziaur Rahman’s tomb on May 30. I will also pray for Madam there. I do the politics of Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia. I will do that as long as I live. I have suffered 17 years of imprisonment and oppression. My own business is over. I have also caused a lot of trouble to my family. Even then, I have not received any appreciation from the party. It is very difficult.”

A large section of the BNP grassroots complain that many of those who have stood on the streets, served jail terms and faced destruction in recent years are falling behind in terms of party posts or committee formation. On the contrary, many ‘hybrids’ and business leaders who were inactive during the 1-11 era, were known as reformists or maintained a distance from the party for a long time are now easily getting important party posts.

We spoke with Ariful Islam, former joint convener of Kafrul Thana Volunteer Party. He said, “In the past, I have faced 13 cases while protesting and have served almost two years in jail. The picture has changed after August 5. New faces have entered the party. Although a new convening committee of the Kafrul Thana Volunteer Party was formed, we did not have a place there.”

There are some names in the new committee, I don’t know if they have ever been in BNP or not. He believes that if those who left their families and relatives and stuck to the party during the party’s worst times are not evaluated, there will be a leadership vacuum in the future.

Former Jubo Dal acting president Mamun Hasan is leading the BNP in Dhaka-15 constituency. He has campaigned and struggled for more than 300 cases, but the party has not evaluated him. Not only that, but those who campaigned and struggled with him have also not been evaluated, said Abu Hanif, former president of Ward 14 BNP, who is roaming around with more than fifty cases on his head.

He said, “I was the ward president of Chhatra Dal for 15 years. I also led the police station of the Volunteer Dal. I served a long time in jail. I was the president of the ward committee, that post was also taken away. Not only these 17 years, but also before, I have seen that in the politics of the opposition party, no one has been seen except a few people. Those who are crowding today, when the party’s bad times come, they will be lost.”

While protesting against the Awami League, he has been accused in more than a hundred cases in the last 17 years, and has served two years in prison. He has served as the president of the Thana Chhatra Dal and Jubo Dal. Not only that, he has also won council elections with immense popularity in the past. At the same time, Ahsan Ullah Chowdhury Hasan was also a member of the convening committee of Dhaka Metropolitan BNP.

He said, “Hybrids are triumphing at all levels – ward, police station and metropolis. The defectors are getting lost in their crowd. After a long time, the party has come to a strong position. The evaluation of the defector leaders is now the demand of the hour.”

People could not be found to carry out the movement. And today, the defectors are becoming inactive in the crowd of milk flies. This is not a good sign. Milk flies will be cut off when times are bad. Not only that, those who have been in league with the Awami League in the past are now taking their place in the front ranks of the party. This cannot be accepted in any way.

A district-level Trinamool leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “When the call for a movement comes, the police surround our house. And when it comes to forming a committee, the gentlemen who fly in from Dhaka and sit together get the positions. This culture is weakening the party from within.”

Meanwhile, when a political party is out of power for a long time, it requires huge sums of money to keep its organizational structure running. Parties often have to rely on financially well-off individuals to conduct legal battles, support imprisoned leaders and activists, and implement party programs.

According to analysts, this is the opportunity taken by opportunistic groups. Even if they are not directly involved in the street movement, they invest huge sums in the party to protect their business interests or to share in future power. As a result, an influential syndicate within the party gives these money-lenders an important place, excluding the defectors.

According to them, a circle or syndicate within the party keeps the loyal and outspoken leaders in a corner to consolidate their power and maintain control. They present the opportunists as competent and loyal to the top leadership, which further accelerates the devaluation of the loyalists.

In almost every district and upazila, internal conflicts are taking extreme shape due to the renegade versus neophyte conflict, which is damaging the party’s chain of command. The party’s core ideological foundation is being weakened by neophyte infiltrators, because for these opportunists, personal interests are more important than the party’s policies or ideology.

However, it is not unusual for any major party to experience such internal transformations and crises after a long-standing authoritarian or hostile environment. However, for a party with a people-based base like the BNP, the consequences can be dire. For the sake of reality in politics, it is necessary to bring in new leadership or people from different strata of society. But if

If the long-tested and life-sacrificing martyrs are humiliated or devalued, the BNP will be at risk of losing the party’s main driving force, i.e., the field workers.

In the coming days, BNP must reduce their influence and rebuild the party with a combination of sacrifice and merit in the street fight. Otherwise, just as these opportunists have flocked to the party during good times of power, they will be the first to leave the party in difficult times or under pressure, which has been proven time and again in the past, those concerned believe.

At the same time, they also believe that if the dedicated and tested grassroots workers of the BNP are truly valued and given responsibility, no party inside or outside the party will have the opportunity to capitalize on anger to create artificial mobs or destabilize the party.