In a bid to defuse escalating tensions within the Jatiya Party (JP), senior leaders from rival factions sat down for a crucial meeting on Saturday afternoon in Dhaka. The gathering, held at the Gulshan residence of co-chairman Anisul Islam Mahmud, aimed to break the deadlock over the party’s now-postponed national council originally scheduled for June 28.
The meeting brought together representatives from the faction aligned with Raushan Ershad, including former secretary general ABM Ruhul Amin Hawladar and Mahmud himself, and the camp led by chairman GM Quader and secretary general Mujibul Haque Chunnu.
Speaking to the Times of Bangladesh, Hawladar described the meeting as a step toward “a united Jatiya Party,” and personally proposed Mahmud as a consensus candidate for the party’s next chairman.
The dispute flared after Quader abruptly cancelled the planned council, citing the unavailability of the China-Bangladesh Friendship Conference Centre. The decision contradicted a May 20 presidium meeting that had approved the June 28 date. Critics within the party say the council could still be held at the Topkhana Road party office, as initially proposed.
Co-chairman Mahmud publicly questioned Quader’s authority to unilaterally defer the event, while Chunnu defended the postponement on technical grounds. “If anyone holds a convention elsewhere, it cannot be regarded as the Jatiya Party’s council,” Chunnu said, calling the dispute a “temporary paralysis” that the leadership is trying to overcome through dialogue.
Quader, meanwhile, reiterated that any convention outside the approved venue would lack legitimacy. “Discussion is still underway. If anyone wishes to act alone, that’s their prerogative,” he told reporters.
Kazi Firoz Rashid, executive chairman of the Raushan faction, said efforts are underway to bring back expelled and sidelined leaders, including former MPs, in an attempt to reconstitute the party’s grassroots strength.
While the party’s Banani office showed clear support for Quader and Chunnu, the Kakarail headquarters, historically associated with Ershad loyalists, remained notably subdued.
Insiders report that the Mahmud-Hawladar camp has rallied support from influential JP figures in Chattogram and Barishal, and is preparing for a parallel convention if reconciliation fails.
However, Saturday’s meeting has rekindled hopes that a last-minute compromise might avert a full-blown split in the party.
