Staff Correspondent

Jatiya Party (JaPa) faction, led by GM Quader and Shameem Haidar Patwary, will meet Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin on Thursday to present its legal explanation opposing the recognition claim of the Anisul Islam Mahmud–Ruhul Amin Hawlader-led committee.

“We have already sent a letter to the Election Commission outlining our legal position against their claim for recognition. Tomorrow, we will meet the CEC and explain why this committee is illegal,” Barrister Shamim Haider Patwary told UNB on Wednesday.

Patwary, who is the secretary general of GM Quader-led JaPa’s faction, said a three-to-four-member delegation will meet the CEC in the afternoon. An EC official also confirmed the scheduled meeting.

On August 10, the Anisul-Hawlader group submitted a letter to the EC seeking recognition for their newly elected leadership, just a day after holding what they called the party’s 10th council on August 9.

The council, organised without GM Quader, elected Anisul Islam Mahmud as the JaPa chairman, Ruhul Amin Hawlader as secretary general, Kazi Firoz Rashid as senior co-chairman, and Mujibul Haque Chunnu as its executive chairman.

Anisul Islam Mahmud told media that the council was held in compliance with due procedure and claimed it represented the “mainstream” JaPa.

"We have informed the Election Commission about the council conducted following the procedures. We have held a council for the registered party number 12 (Japa, Pratik Langal)." he said, adding that the decision now rests with the Commission.

Anisul claimed that only their committee has the constitutional right to use the party’s election symbol, the Plough.

However, the EC’s website still shows GM Quader as the chairman of Jatiya Party and Md Mujibul Haque as its Secretary General.

On July 07 last, GM Quader removed his party’s 10 senior leaders, including Anisul, Hawlader and Chunnu from JaPa and made Shameem Haidar Patwary as the party’s secretary general.