A hobbled BNP, with its convict Chairperson Khaleda Zia in jail and acting Chief Tarique Rahman absconding, is ultimately participating in 11th parliamentary elections minus the two, the party's Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi confirmed on Sunday.
Khaleda cannot contest the election as the Election Commission (EC) on Sunday ditched all the three nomination papers of her filed for contesting the polls from Feni-1, Bogura-6 and Bogura-7 seats for her conviction in two graft cases.
No street protest was reported from anywhere of the country, except some rhetoric from Rizvi, who claimed that there party chief's nomination paper was annulled as part of a government blueprint to hold a lopsided election.
Rizvi, while speaking at a press conference at the party's Nayapaltan central office on Sunday, also vowed to remain in the contest sans Khaleda and Tarique.
BNP fielded alternative candidates conspicuously in all the constituencies, where Khaleda intended to contest, knowing it well that she is disqualified to contest any poll after she was found guilty in two corruption cases.
According to Article 66(2) of the Constitution, any person, who has been convicted for a criminal offence involving moral turpitude, and sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years, cannot contest unless a period of five years has elapsed since that person's release.
The Supreme Court (SC) in two orders -one on November 28 and another on Monday -upheld the court decisions that blocked the path for all candidates with jail sentences of two or more years wishing to compete in the polls.
Many nomination papers of candidates of BNP and its alliance partners, including Khaleda Zia and many other front-ranking leaders, were declared invalid on Sunday by the EC
during scrutiny. They include BNP Vice-chairmen Morshed Khan, Mir Nasir and Giasuddin Quader Chowdhury, BNP chairperson's adviser Amanullah Aman, Krishak Sramik Janata League (KSJL) president Abdul Kader Siddiqui, ex-minister Barrister Aminul Haque, former Finance Minister Shah AMS Kibria's son and Gano Forum runner Reza Kibria and Golam Maula Rony, who recently joined the BNP.
The graft cases, Khaleda was found guilty of, was initiated by the military-backed caretaker government in 2008 as a part of the so called "minus two" formula. Similar cases were also filed against Sheikh Hasina by the caretaker government. However, the allegations against Hasina were not proved.
Khaleda's minus from politics becomes a reality after she was convicted in two corruption cases. But, it is still not clear whether Dr Kamal Hossain has come forward and formed Jatiya Oikyafront to rehabilitate her in politics or to abolish the possibility of rehabilitation.
"We've brought Dr Kamal to destroy Tarique's leadership," Barrister Mainul Hossain, a key sponsor of the Oikyafront, was found to have said in a leaked telephone conversation that went viral on the internet on October 23.
However, interviewing nomination seekers through a teleconference on November 18 to 22, fugitive Tarique exerted his position in the party and also proved that he has still some roles to play in BNP.
Tarique Rahman has been living in London for a decade. Alongside corruption convictions, he has been sentenced to life term imprisonment for masterminding the massacre at an Awami League rally on August 21 in 2004. In the eyes of the law he is considered a fugitive.
Tarique was appointed acting chairman of BNP after his mother was imprisoned. Earlier in February this year, the party hastily deleted the Section 7 of the party's statute that barred anyone involved or convicted for corruption from getting membership of the party or nomination to contest the parliamentary election.
The HC upon hearing a writ petition on October 31, ordered the EC not to accept amended constitution of BNP that allows corruption convicts to become party member. BNP did not file any appeal against the HC order.
"The HC order with immediate effect necessarily prevents BNP from keeping Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman in the party, as both of them are convicts of criminal offences or moral turpitude. The duo is now ineligible to lead the party," Deputy Attorney General Al Amin Sarker told the Daily Observer.
Awami League leaders and legal experts said Tarique's joining BNP nomination board, interviewing the nomination seekers and aiding him to lead the party was illegal and a punishable offence.
It is a punishable offence to harbour or conceal a fugitive offender as per Section 212 of Bangladesh Penal Code. Section 52A of Penal Code says, the word "harbour" includes "the supplying a person with means of conveyance, or assisting a person by any means."
"The BNP leaders have been violating the High Court's order by keeping Tarique as its chief and allowing him to interview its nomination seekers. They are providing shelter to a fugitive criminal which is an offence," former Law Minister Abdul Matin Khosru said.
BNP is at present in its politically weakest state. Many senior leaders of the party are facing various criminal charges for participation in violent protests during the early months of 2015, which resulted in the death of over a 100 people, who were mostly burnt alive in arson attacks.
BNP lacks both street power and political will to go ahead without the leadership of Khaleda Zia. A demoralised BNP will hardly have the stamina to put up a fight especially when its cadres are in disarray facing criminal charges.
But, abstaining from elections without Khaleda was not politically sustainable for BNP.
Will the party survive factionalism when Khaleda and Tarique are disqualified?
Khaleda was not used to entrust anybody to become acting chairman of her party, while she had been travelling abroad.
The leadership contestation at the senior levels and the party's lack of faith in entrusting responsibility on them was very much evident when Mirza Fakhrul was made General Secretary in August 2016, after having remained its acting General Secretary for five years.
Now, it is not only difficult to keep the morale of its cadre high but also equally challenging to keep control over the party from jail and London.
