The Jamaat-e-Islami-backed “Green Panel” suffered a comprehensive defeat in the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) elections, with observers noting the loss was effectively sealed before polling began due to strategic rigidity and a failure to field heavyweight candidates.
Despite achieving significant results in national elections, the party has struggled to maintain its influence within professional bodies.
With Awami League-backed lawyers unable to field candidates, analysts suggest Jamaat’s most effective strategy would have been to lead a unified anti-government alliance of heavyweight independent lawyers to capture the displaced vote bank.
Instead, the party’s refusal to look beyond its own internal circle resulted in a “debacle” at the polls.
Strategic failures and candidate selection
A senior lawyer associated with Jamaat told TIMES of Bangladesh that the party failed to account for the complex calculations required in professional elections.
“Jamaat generally cannot think outside its own circle,” he stated, noting the party prioritises whether a candidate is a “Rukn” (member) rather than their appeal to general lawyers.
The contest primarily became a two-way race between the BNP-backed “Blue Panel” and the Jamaat-backed “Green Panel,” with the latter viewed as significantly weaker. The Blue Panel’s presidential candidate, AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon, is a veteran with a career that includes two terms as SCBA President and seven terms as Secretary.
In contrast, the Green Panel fielded Abdul Baten, who is not a senior lawyer and previously held a senior vice-president post only as part of a BNP-led alliance. Similarly, the Green Panel’s secretary candidate, Rezaul Karim, was less known among lawyers compared to the Blue Panel’s Mohammad Ali.
Internal dissent and failed coalitions Sources revealed that Jamaat lost the opportunity to field a prominent senior lawyer for the presidency after demanding he formally join the party; the lawyer refused.
Additionally, senior lawyer Mohammad Shishir Monir declined the secretary nomination due to a lack of preparation.
Internal friction reached a peak when five Green Panel candidates threatened to withdraw unless Mohammad Hossain Lipu was made the unified secretary candidate. While Barrister Zubair Ahmed Bhuiyan of the AB Party was eventually included as assistant secretary, the demand for Lipu was rejected.
Shakil Ahamad, chief organiser of the National Lawyers’ Alliance, confirmed to TIMES that attempts to form a unified panel with Lipu failed due to resistance from a few leaders within Jamaat’s Supreme Court-based organisations.
This resistance persisted despite a positive meeting regarding Lipu’s candidacy between a senior lawyer and Jamaat’s Central Secretary General, Mia Golam Porwar.
Historical comparisons
Lawyers pointed out that personal merit and qualifications are paramount in bar polls.
Historically, the BNP has won by nominating non-partisan heavyweights when they lacked a strong internal candidate, such as former Justice Habibul Islam Bhuiya in 1998, as well as Mainul Hosein and Khandaker Mahbub Hossain.
Jamaat, however, failed to adopt such a flexible strategy. Ashraf-uz-Zaman, a lawyer and Jamaat supporter, told TIMES that a multi-party panel was necessary to attract votes from beyond the party’s base.
Allegations of a ‘syndicate’
The failure is also being attributed to a lack of coordination and “grouping” between Jamaat’s Supreme Court units: the Bangladesh Lawyers Council (led by Abdul Baten) and the South Branch (led by AKM Rezaul Karim Khandaker). A third unit, the North Branch, is led by Shafiqur Rahman.
Insiders alleged that a “syndicate” of local leaders provided misleading information to the central party leadership to secure their own candidacies. Senior lawyer Muhammad Belayet Hossain noted that the panel was formed in haste without adequate research or campaigning.
However, Saifur Rahman, vice president of the Jamaat SC South Branch, dismissed the syndicate allegations as “baseless.” He maintained that the candidates were qualified and that the party contested based on its political position rather than to “legitimise” a BNP victory.
