GM Quader to act as JP chief, Raushan as opposition leader

GM Quader will act as chairman of Jatiya Party while Raushan Ershad will be Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, party sources said.

The decision came at a meeting of the party at a club in Baridhara area of Dhaka tonight, JP presidium member SM Foysal Chisty, who was present at the meeting, told The Daily Star. The meeting was held over the growing conflict over appointing Leader of the Opposition in Parliament.

It was also decided in the meeting that  Rahgir Al Mahi alias Saad Ershad, the eldest son of late JP Chairman HM Ershad, will be nominated as party candidate in Rangpur-3 by-polls, he said.

There is no more conflict in the Jatiya Party  from now,  said SM Foysal Chisty.

Jatiya Party Presidium Members Faysal Millat, Mujibul Haque Chunnu, Fakhrul Islam and Selim Osman from Raushan’s faction while Kazi Firoz Rashid, Ziauddin Bablu, Syed Abu Hossain Babla and Mahmud Uddin Chowdhury of Quader faction joined the meeting to end the crisis, the JP leader said.

Both the factions of the party will jointly brief to media on Monday over the overall outcome of tonight’s meeting, he added.

A faction of JP under leadership of newly announced Chairman Raushan Ershad on September 5 formed the party’s parliamentary board to finalise candidate ahead of Rangpur-3 by-polls scheduled for October 5.

The parliamentary board with 13 members has been formed as per article 21 of the Jatiya Party charter, according to a press release signed by newly announced Chairman Raushan Ershad.

As senior leader of the party GM Quader’s name has been kept in the board while Moshiur Rahman Ranga who will remain the party’s secretary general, is its member secretary, the press release said.

On July 18, JP Secretary General Moshiur Rahman Ranga formally announced HM Ershad’s younger brother GM Quader as Jatiya Party chairman at a press conference.

Before his death, Ranga said, Ershad through an organisational instruction had announced that GM Quader would be the party chairman in his absence.

Four days later, Raushon in a statement said GM Quader cannot be declared the chairman of the party without any decision at the party forum.

Four JP leaders-- Rahgir Al Mahi alias Saad Ershad, the eldest son of late JP Chairman HM Ershad, JP presidium member Fakhar-uz-Zaman Jahangir, its joint general secretary and Rangpur city unit general secretary SM Yasir, executive committee member and Ershad’s niece Mehejebunnesa Rahman Tumpa -- have so far collected the party nomination form to contest the by-polls.

The parliamentary seat fell vacant following JP chairman HM Ershad’s demise on July 14.