Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), the pro-BNP student wing which has been facing criticism for outdated leadership, is set to observe its 46th founding anniversary today.

Many believe relying on older leaders and irregular members could harm JCD's future.

JCD also faces issues like lack of democratic practices and internal conflicts, raising concerns among student leaders about a potential leadership crisis.

Founded in 1979 by Ziaur Rahman, JCD has operated under a draft constitution since the late 1990s, with no progress made in the past 28 years.

However, JCD General Secretary Nasir Uddin Nasir said the draft constitution will be finalised soon.

Over the last 24 years, JCD has held only one council -- in 2019, highlighting a lack of democratic practices and the development of effective leadership.

Younger members are now calling for fresh faces in leadership, but many senior leaders, mostly in their early forties, resist these changes, according to JCD insiders.

Nasir Uddin addressed concerns about older leadership, saying over the past 15 years, the organisation faced severe persecution under the previous government. This made it difficult to hold council meetings or form new committees.

"As we could not form committees regularly, we ended up with older leaders. Also, experience was prioritised to strengthen the leadership," he said.

Student leaders said JCD's activities have significantly declined in last 15 years, largely due to restrictions on campus access imposed by Chhatra League, which was banned in October 2024.

JCD leaders have also faced harassment, lawsuits, and physical attacks, which have discouraged new recruits, they argued.

The current leadership is mostly made up of individuals who are no longer regular students.

Many members of the JCD central committee enrolled in university over a decade ago. While some still pursue irregular courses at Dhaka University and other institutions, others have no active student status.

Among the women members, some are irregular students or have dropped out of their studies years ago.

JCD President Rakibul Islam enrolled at Dhaka University in the 2006-07 academic year, while Nasir Uddin joined in 2007-08.

 Other senior leaders, such as Senior Vice-President Abu Afsan, enrolled in 2006-07, Senior Joint General Secretary Shyamal Malum in 2007-08, and Organising Secretaries Amanullah Aman and Sharif Pradhan in 2009-10 and Jahangir Alam in 2007-08.

A university degree is typically completed within eight years, meaning most senior JCD leaders' regular student life ended 6 to 9 years ago.

The committee formation process has also faced criticism regarding transparency.

On June 15 last year, a 257-member JCD central committee was announced. However, the declaration lacked the signatures of the JCD president and general secretary; it only bore the signature of BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

Meanwhile, the organisation's inability to maintain discipline and professionalism has led to violent incidents on campuses.

On December 24, JCD announced a 230-member convening committee, sparking protests from those excluded.

Following the announcement, tensions escalated at Dhaka College, as the college unit accused the president and general secretary of favouritism and mismanagement.

Protests were brought out, while seven cocktail explosions were reported on campus.

Amid such concerns, JCD is set to observe its anniversary. It will hold a discussion today, with BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman as the chief guest.