Cox’s Bazar representative: As before, the leaders of the Awami League and allied organizations are not elected by the direct vote of the Trinamool in the council, so the value of the workers has decreased. Due to these reasons, instead of forming a party at the grassroots, the aspirants are trying to buy positions by packing their own sugarcane. No matter how much sacrifice or popularity there is for the grievance party, these are no longer useful for getting party positions. In cases of unethical dealings and’my man’, an inexperienced person is also getting the post of president-editor of the party’s branch organization. Recently, in Cox’s Bazar, the Awami League, Chhatra League, Jubo League, Swachhasebak League, and other organizations have held conferences in the district and several upazilas. But the committee was not formed.
Dissatisfaction is prevailing among the grassroots leaders and activists of the Awami League, affiliates, and organ organizations regarding these issues. Awami League: District Awami League committees are being announced from the center after the party came to power. There is dissatisfaction in the Trinamool as the president and secretary of the current committee have been appointed from the center. As the council is not elected by vote, they also do not evaluate the leaders and activists of the upazila. Many former Bagha Bagha leaders of the district Awami League were not accommodated in the district committee sent to the center recently.
However, many hybrid new faces who have never been associated with the Awami League have been placed on the committee. The condition of the upazila is more dire. Especially from the Chakaria-Pekua committee, many defectors have been expelled. So many Tyagi activists no longer give time to party programs. Although district Awami League General Secretary Mujibur Rahman’s names have been sent to the Center for claimable and genuine leaders, Cox’s Bazar Jubo League: The meeting of Cox’s Bazar Town on March 9, Ramu on March 10, Kutubdia on March 11, Ukhia on March 12, and Maheshkhali Upazila on March 13 was held this year. But no new committee was formed anywhere.
After completing the conference, the central leaders responsible for organizing the district level took the responsibility of announcing the new committee to the center. However, no instructions have come regarding the expired Cox’s Bazar Sadar Upazila Committee. Similarly, Pekua, Chakaria, Chakaria Municipality, and Teknaf Upazila Jubo League are conducting organizational activities in Dhimetal as expired. Several former leaders and activists of the Jubo League said on condition of anonymity that the last conference of the district Jubo League was held on March 29, 2018. At that time, Sohail Ahmad Bahadur was made president, and Shahidul Haque Sohail was made general secretary.
After five years, they failed to provide a full committee. No ward committee could be organized. The center announced the abolition of the committee in mid-June due to various irregularities, complaints, and failures. There was no new committee. There is extreme dissatisfaction at the grassroots level, as no new leadership has emerged.
Former General Secretary of the District Jubo League and Mayor of Cox’s Bazar Municipality, Mahbubur Rahman, said that the District Jubo League has lost its past due to incompetent leadership. Party activities have slowed down. To get out of this situation, the Trinamool should go through the leadership election process through the council again.
Volunteer League: On July 28, the District Volunteer League had a conference, but there was no committee. Aspirants in Dhaka are trying to manage each leader. Many are negotiating to get the post. Listed drug dealers and controversial figures are also known to lobby. Although the district committee has not seen the light even in one and a half months, The central leaders of the Volunteer League say that the committee will be announced within a month, consisting of the eligible.
Chhatra League: The condition of the Chhatra League in Cox’s Bazar is also going well. After Kanak-Manjur’s committee, Ali-Taher’s committee, which became president-editor from the center, lost the tradition of the Chhatra League. After that, Ishtiaq-Rashid and the current Saddam-Maruf committee were also not elected by Trinamool. Instead of organizing the organization, the president and editor created area-based ‘My Man’. As a result, true Mujib-ideal soldiers are not emerging. Although the one-year committee has passed almost three years, it has not been a full-fledged committee. Rather, the president and editor of the committee are making headlines in the media for various complaints, including encroachment.
However, they denied all the allegations. They said that a full committee has been sent to the center, and approval is awaited. Khorshed Alam, the former president of the District Jubo League, said that the leadership emerging from the Chhatra League and Jubo League will perform the duties of the Awami League and affiliates in the coming days. The earlier Trinamool Chhatra League and Jubo League were well organized, and the activists were kept energized. He said that it is important to elect the leader by direct vote among the councilors. Aspirants used to create staff and increase communication. But as the party has been in power for 15 consecutive years, this trend is being interrupted.
District Awami League leader Rashedul Islam said that since independence, there has been a rivalry between the Chhatra League and the Youth League in Cox’s Bazar. But for more than a decade, the organizations from the district to the grassroots have not been as well organized as before. Even the rest of the committee, except the president and editor, do not know each other. There is no ‘chain of command’. Many respect the leader. Because of this, many tyagi leaders do not go to party programs now.
Awami League leader Advocate Ranjit Dash said that even though there are thousands of Chhatra League-Youth League leaders and activists in the remote areas of the district, they are in a kind of existential crisis. Such incidents are happening due to the arbitrariness, revenge, luxury, and inefficiency of district officials of the Chhatra League and Jubo League. Mainul Hossain Khan Nikhil, general secretary of the Jubo League, said that after various complaints, initiatives have been taken to strengthen the organizational activities of Cox’s Bazar Jubo League.
A new committee consisting of dedicated, self-sacrificing, and honest leaders and workers will be announced soon.
