Party offices disappear, are abandoned, remain silent

Since August 5, all 28 political parties that participated in the January 7 polls have been confronted with a completely different reality, with many of the offices appearing to be empty or padlocked.

The parties’ activists – six of whom are members of the Awami League-led 14-party alliance – are avoiding public gatherings for fear of possible arrests and intimidation.

Top leaders of many of the parties have gone into hiding or severely restricted outdoor movement, The Daily Star has learned from people close to the individuals.

Their activities are basically limited to making statements on various issues, she added.

The correspondent visited the central offices of 13 parties on four days late last month and found the central offices of five parties – Jatiya Party, Trinomool BNP, Bangladesh Nationalist Movement (BNM), National Awami Party and Jatiya Party (JP) – padlocked .

Offices of the Tariqat Federation and the Ganatantri Party no longer exist, as their landlords rented out the spaces to others. The party leaders have not shown up since August 5.

The headquarters of the ruling Awami League party, on Bangabandhu Avenue, now looks like an abandoned building.

The entrance was littered with ash, broken glass and charred wood. The building had been destroyed and set on fire on August 5 and later.

Last Sunday, makeshift cots used by street vendors were seen piled up against the main entrance.

Posters of Jamaat-e-Islami highlighting the incidents of violence since October 28, 2008, and several posters of Gono Odhikar Parishad now cover parts of the office walls.

According to nearby shopkeepers, no AL members have returned to the building since August 5.

This correspondent was unable to contact AL’s central leadership.

CLOSED OFFICES

The central office of the Jatiya Party, the opposition in Parliament for three consecutive terms since 2014, in Kakrail was found locked on October 27 around 4.30 pm.

Insiders said the party’s number of outdoor political programs has dropped significantly since August 5, with most activities taking place indoors.

A few days later, on November 1, the building was set on fire and destroyed by a group of people marching under the banner of “Antifascist Students, Workers and Masses”.

Abdur Rahman, president of Sramik Odhikar Parishad, an associate body of the Gono Odhikar Parishad, said activists of his party were marching with lighted torches when some people from the Jatiya Party office building threw bricks at them from above.

Contacted, Jatiya Party General Secretary Mujibul Haque Chunnu said the central office was closed as all leaders and activists were in the party presidents’ office in Banani.

He claimed that the number of political programs of the party did not decrease.

He, however, said the party had organized an open-air program across the country to protest against the filing of cases against its leaders.

“We hold regular meetings with all member organizations,” he added.

Trinamool BNP’s central office at Meherba Plaza on Topkhana Road was found locked the same day. There was no signboard there either.

Locals said they have hardly seen party activities there since August 5. The situation worsened after the arrest of party president Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury on October 18, they said.

The party has stopped operations at the office for several days as the staff left, said Taimur Alam Khandaker, general secretary of Trinamool BNP.

He cannot say how long there have been no party activities.

“We will think about political programs after analyzing the situation and when political activities resume in the country,” he said.

Central offices of Bangladesh National Awami Party (NAP) in Dhanmondi and Jatiya Party (JP) in Lalmatia were found closed. Locals said the offices of the parties – parts of the 14-party alliance – have been closed for many days.

“We open our party office from time to time due to the current political situation. Many activists were scattered and therefore political activities came to a standstill,” said Ivy Ahmed, chairman of NAP.

The main entrance of the BNM headquarters in Mohammadpur was found to be padlocked. The office is located in a flat owned by party chairman Shah Muhammad Abu Zafar.

Zafar said they have instructed all party leaders and activists to go to their places.

“They visit the head office twice and three times a week. We have no political programs now. We are analyzing the situation,” he added.

The High Party and the BNM were registered with the Electoral Commission before the January elections, sparking criticism and many calling them “king’s party”.

“We are not a King’s Party because we were critical of the Awami League,” Zafar said.

OFFICES DO NOT EXIST

The central offices of two fourteen-party alliance components, the Bangladesh Tariqat Federation in Dhanmondi and the Ganatantri Party in Purana Paltan, no longer exist.

Md Nuruzzaman, the caretaker of the building that housed Tariqat’s office, said the party leaders left the office on August 5 with their documents.

He said the party activists paid the rent and only came to the offices to collect their belongings.

The phones of party president Nazibul Bashar Maizbhandary and general secretary Syed Rezaul Haque Chandpuri were unreachable.

Meanwhile, locals of Purana Paltan said no members of the Ganatantri Party have been to the Israt Tower office since August 5. The building’s owners rented the space to a lawyer because the party had not paid rent for months.

The building authorities kept the party’s belongings, including chairs and tables, piled in a corner on the floor.

Enam Ali, manager of the building, said they could not settle the financial issues with the Ganatantri Party because its leaders were unreachable.

Ganatantri Party president Arash Ali did not answer his phone and general secretary Shahadat Hossain’s phone was unreachable.

ALMOST EMPTY

In mid-September, party members reopened the central office of the Bangladesh Workers’ Party, which had been vandalized. The Workers’ Party is also an important member of the fourteen-party alliance.

When the correspondent visited the office, two employees were present.

Party chairman Rashed Khan Menon was arrested on August 22 and secretary general Fazle Hasan Badshah was abroad for medical treatment, limiting party activities to making statements, party members said.

Acting President Mahmudul Hasan Manik said he was in touch with party offices. “Our activists are reluctant to return for fear of intimidation,” he said.

At the Samyabadi Dal central office in Topkhana, ailing central leader Sunil Sen was present as he stays in the office. Locals said they have not seen any political programs lately and hardly any top leaders appear anymore.

Since August 5, party general secretary Dilip Barua had been visiting the office only to inquire about Sunil’s health. Dilip Barua’s phone was unreachable.

At around 5:30 pm on October 25, a security guard at the Bangladesh Supreme Party office in Mirpur-1 said the office was empty. The building also houses the Dhaka Zila Committee.

Party secretary Ibrahim Miah explained over the phone that they were in the process of moving to Naya Paltan and that was why no one was present at the Mirpur location.

Only two people, including Bangladesh Sangiskritik Muktijote Secretary General Shahjamal Amirul, were present at the headquarters on Mazar Road in Mirpur on October 25 evening. Amirul said they did not hold public programs but conducted their activities online.

“We will launch a public program soon,” he said.