The Jatiya Party (JaPa) has once again returned to the headlines for a familiar reason: the party may be on the brink of splintering once more – this time for the seventh time.
The latest rift follows the Dhaka First Joint District Judge Court's imposition on July 31 of a temporary injunction on Jatiya Party (JaPa) Chairman GM Quader, barring him from engaging in political activities.
The ban related to a case filed over "undue party influence" wielded by the Quader and Joint Office Secretary Mahmud Alam.
Soon after, a faction of senior leaders appointed Anisul Islam Mahmud as acting chairman at a presidium meeting on Tuesday.
But this wasn't a sudden decision. In fact, it had been in the works for a while.
Secretary General of Jatiya Party (JaPa) Mujibul Haque Chunnu said they had gone to court after GM Quader expelled a total of 10 senior leaders, including him and Anisul, "in violation of the party's constitution" on 7 July.
"The court has now issued a temporary injunction against GM Quader and we are free from any restrictions. As such, Anisul Islam Mahmud will now serve as acting chairman," he said.
"I totally understand that the party's grassroots supporters are facing confusion and trust issues due to GM Quader's repeated inconsistent decisions and statements, especially since August 5," he added.
Chunnu said the public may feel frustrated by this division within JaPa, but Quader had made the situation untenable.
"Although GM Quader lacked political maturity compared to us, we respect him as Hussain Muhammad Ershad's brother," he said.
"He has expelled several leaders and activists arbitrarily that has created uncertainty among grassroots voters."
He also said the party was not currently focused on elections, but on restoring itself to a functioning state. Chunnu said their current focus is on holding the party council.
Anisul Islam Mahmud told Stream that a number of party leaders were relieved of their responsibilities through a meeting "which had no base".
"Only the party's secretary general has the authority to call such a meeting. Therefore, any decision made there lacks validity," he said.
Anisul argued that no democratic party should not be autocratic, but GM Quader had displayed authoritarian behavior in every aspect of party leadership.
Shameem Haider Patwary, secretary general of Jatiya Party's GM Quader unit, however said the decisions of Anisul or his supporters would be ineffective.
"We saw in the court order that a temporary ban has been imposed on the organizational activities of GM Quader and two others. There is no comment on the reinstatement of the expelled ones. As a result, none of the expelled ones have been reinstated."
Commenting on the decision to make Anisul the acting chairman at a presidium meeting on Tuesday, he termed that whole meeting as illegal.
"Only the chairman or acting chairman can call this meeting. There is no legal basis for anyone else to call a meeting," he told the Bangla daily Prothom Alo.
As the party grapples with the latest round of disagreement, the feeling in the grassroots is one of utter discontent.
Speaking to Stream, Shapon Sarkar, joint secretary of Jatiya Party, Bogura district, said they firmly believed in GM Quader's leadership.
"People have been losing their trust in the Jatiya Party due to the actions of certain senior leaders. GM Quader expelled 10 of them because they violated the party's constitution and broke its internal rules," he said.
When asked about recent disputes and court orders, he said they were not concerned by any orders or issues.
"For us, GM Quader remains the party's chairman, and Shameem Haider Patwary is our secretary general," he said.
Former organising secretary of the Jatiya Sramik Party (worker's wing), Brahmanbaria district, Md Ataur Rahman also spoke about the erosion of faith.
"If a party splits so many times, how will the public keep their trust on it," he said.
"Grassroot level leaders and activists still support the Jatiya Party because they own the party, but they are deprived just because of the party's internal problems," he said.
"Even after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, our district-level activities have remained slow due to these internal problems," he said.
A Timeline of Splits
1990
The first division in the party occurred in the 1990s following Ershad's fall from power. Then, a non-party caretaker government, led by then Chief Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed, was formed on December 6, 1990. Subsequently, HM Ershad was arrested and, in his absence, Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury took over charge of the Jatiya Party (JaPa) as an acting chairman. In 1991, another split occurred as Huda-Matin broke away from the party and formed Jatiyo Party (Nationalism Movement), but it did not survive.
1996
In 1996, JaPa split again when Anwar Hossain Manju contested elections with the Awami League (AL). Manju then formed the Jatiyo Party (JP) with AL backing.
1999
JaPa faced its third split in 1999 when HM Ershad left the four-party alliance, resulting in the formation of another faction.
2001
Before the 2001 parliamentary elections, Ershad joined the grand alliance with the AL. The party split for the fourth time when a portion led by the then Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP) secretary general, Naziur Rahman Manzur, remained in the four-party alliance.
2013
The fifth split occurred in 2013 after a special council meeting. Former prime minister Kazi Zafar Ahmed announced the formation of the new Jatiya Party through a special council meeting. That party is currently led by Mustafa Jamal Haider, but the party failed to get registered.
2019
Following Ershad's death on July 14, 2019, a conflict erupted between his widow Raushan Ershad, and his younger brother GM Quader over chairmanship.
Raushan Ershad declared herself party chairperson and formed a separate committee, appointing Kazi Mamunur Rashid as secretary general.
Factions of Raushan and GM Quader, after several meetings, came to an understanding that Quader would remain the chairperson, while Raushan Ershad would be the opposition leader.
2024
In March 2024, the party split for the sixth time, as Raushan and GM Quader couldn't come to an agreement over the party chairmanship.
Raushan formed a separate committee, while Quader declared himself the chairman.
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