Party offices silent, abandoned

Before August 5, the central office of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) led by its President Hasanul Haq Inu was abuzz with activities.
Leaders and activists of not only the JSD, a member of the 14-party alliance, but its ally organisations like the Krishak Jote, the Sramik Jote, the Jubo Jote, and the Nari Jote would gather at the two-storied party office for discussions.
But on August 5, with the fall of the Awami League government, the party office fell silent and now wears a deserted look.
A portion of the office was found to be locked, with only a person seen inside a room reading a newspaper when this correspondent paid a visit recently.
He, however, said he had no connection with the party and that he came to the office after finding it open and was waiting for someone.
As the correspondent was leaving, a man claiming to be a central leader of JSD said their party office was “grabbed by” some people who were former members of the party. He did not agree to divulge his name.
“But we got back to our party office after several days. Leaders and activists refrain from visiting the office in fear of arrest or harassment,” he said.
Many central leaders of the party went into hiding after the arrest of JSD President Hasanul Haque Inu on August 26.
Contacted over the phone, JSD Executive President Rabiul Alam said party activists come to the office in the evening. “Right now, we have no political programmes but we are issuing statements,” he said.
JSD represents just one of many parties affected by the political changeover.
Since August 5, all 28 political parties that participated in the polls held on January 7 are facing a completely different reality, with many of the offices found to be empty or padlocked.
The activists of the parties — six of which are members of the Awami League-led 14-party alliance — are avoiding public gatherings, fearing potential arrest and harassment.
Top leaders of many of the parties either went into hiding or have severely restricted outdoor movements, The Daily Star has learnt from people close to the individuals.
Their activities, in fact, are limited to issuing statements on various issues, they 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 Tariqat Federation and Ganatantri Party do not exist now as their landlords rented the spaces out to others. The leaders of the parties have not turned up since August 5.
The headquarters of the immediate past ruling party Awami League on Bangabandhu Avenue now looks like an abandoned building.
With its entrance littered with ash, shattered glass, and charred wood. The building had been vandalised and torched on August 5 and later.
Last Sunday, makeshift cots used by street vendors were seen stacked against the main gate.
Posters of Jamaat-e-Islami highlighting incidents of violence since October 28, 2008, and several Gono Odhikar Parishad posters now cover parts of the office walls.
No AL members returned to the building since August 5, according to nearby shopkeepers.
This correspondent could not contact any AL central leaders.
LOCKED OFFICES
The central office of the Jatiya Party, the opposition in parliament for three consecutive terms since 2014, in Kakrail was found locked around 4:30pm on October 27.
Insiders said the number of outdoor political programmes of the party dropped significantly since August 5 and most of the activities are indoors.
A few days later, on November 1, the building was set on fire and vandalised by a group of people marching under the banner of “Anti-fascist 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 lit torches when some people from the Jatiya Party office building threw brick chunks at them from upstairs.
Contacted, Jatiya Party Secretary General Mujibul Haque Chunnu said the central office was locked as all the leaders and activists were at the party chairmen’s office in Banani.
He claimed that the number of the party’s political programmes did not drop.
He, however, said that the party had organised one outdoor programme across the country to protest the filing of cases against its leaders.
“We are holding meetings with all affiliated organisations regularly,” 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 hardly saw party activities there since August 5. The situation worsened after the arrest of party chairperson Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury on October 18, they said.
The party has ceased activities at the office for some days as its staff left, said Taimur Alam Khandaker, general secretary of Trinamool BNP.
He could not say for how long there have been no party activities.
“We will think about political programmes after analysing the situation and when political activities resume in the country,” he said.
Central offices of the Bangladesh National Awami Party (NAP) in Dhanmondi and Jatiya Party (JP) in Lalmatia were found locked. Locals said the offices of the parties — components 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 that’s why political activities came to a halt,” said Ivy Ahmed, president of NAP.
The main gate of the BNM’s central office in Mohammadpur was found padlocked. The office is 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 localities.
“They visit the central office twice and thrice a week. We don’t have any political programmes now. We are analysing the situation,” he added.
The Supreme Party and BNM got registration with the Election Commission before the January polls, sparking criticism with many terming them “kings party”.
“We are not a King’s Party as we were critical of Awami League,” Zafar said.
OFFICES DON’T EXIST
The central offices of two 14-party alliance components, Bangladesh Tariqat Federation in Dhanmondi and Ganatantri Party in Purana Paltan, do not exist anymore.
Md Nuruzzaman, the caretaker of the building where Tariqat’s office was housed, said the party leaders left the office on August 5 with their documents.
He said the party activists paid the rent and did not come to the offices except to collect their belongings.
The phones of the party’s chairman Nazibul Bashar Maizbhandary and Secretary General Syed Rezaul Haque Chandpuri were unreachable.
Meanwhile, locals in Purana Paltan said no members of the Ganatantri Party went to its office housed in Israt Tower since August 5. The building owners leased the space out to a lawyer as the party did not pay rent for months.
The building authorities kept the party’s belongings, including chairs and tables, stacked in a corner on the floor.
Enam Ali, manager of the building, said they could not settle financial issues with the Ganatantri Party as the leaders were unreachable.
Ganatantri Party President Arash Ali did not pick up his phone and its general secretary Shahadat Hossain’s phone was unreachable.
ALMOST EMPTY
In mid-September, party men reopened the central office of the Workers Party of Bangladesh, which was vandalised. Workers Party is also a key member of the 14-party alliance.
When the correspondent visited the office, two staffers were present.
Party President Rashed Khan Menon was detained on August 22, and its general secretary Fazle Hasan Badshah was abroad for medical treatment, leaving the party activities limited to issuing statements, according to party people.
Acting president Mahmudul Hasan Manik said he was in touch with the party offices. “Our activists are hesitant to return due to fears of harassment,” he said.
At the Samyabadi Dal’s central office in Topkhana, ailing central leader Sunil Sen was there as he resides in the office. Locals said they did not witness any political programmes recently and hardly any top leaders shows up there anymore.
Since August 5, the party’s General Secretary Dilip Barua visited the office only to enquire about Sunil’s health. Dilip Barua’s phone was unreachable.
On October 25 around 5:30pm, 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 office secretary Ibrahim Miah explained over phone that they were in the process of moving to Naya Paltan, which is why no one was present at the Mirpur location.
Only two people including Bangladesh Sangiskritik Muktijote’s General Secretary Shahjamal Amirul were present at its central office on Mazar Road in Mirpur on October 25 evening. Amirul said that they were not holding public programmes but running their activities online.
“We will launch a public programme soon,” he said.