M Rezaul Islam, Naogaon

After a long wait, the organizational activities of Manda Upazila BNP of Naogaon are getting back on track. The schedule of the 'Biennial Council-2025' has been announced with the aim of forming the much-desired full committee. 

The council has brought immense enthusiasm and excitement among the dedicated and tested grassroots workers.

The date of this council has finally been fixed in coordination with the party's central and district level leaders. According to the announced schedule, the Manda Upazila BNP council will be held on July 18 (Friday).

The nomination and election schedule has already been set for this council. Nomination forms can be collected until 1 pm on July 8 and 9. The submission and verification process will be completed on July 9. After that, the withdrawal of candidacy and allocation of symbols will be on July 10. There is a lot of enthusiasm and enthusiasm among the leaders and activists around this council to restore organizational dynamics.

A 6-member election management committee has been formed to form a full-fledged committee of Manda Upazila BNP on the occasion of the biennial council.

S. M. A. Al Kafi Tuhin, General Secretary of Sadar Upazila BNP and member of Naogaon District BNP, has been appointed as the Convener of this committee.

The other members are District BNP Member Sardar Saiful Islam Saju, Manda Upazila BNP member Golam Sarwar Swapan, Md. Saidur Rahman Molla, Fazlul Bari Safi and Md. Emran Hossain.

This committee will oversee the entire process of the council—nominations, vetting, voting, and other ancillary management, including income and expenditure.

Golam Sarwar Swapan, one of the members of the election management committee, said, "As members of this election management committee, we are committed to completing the biennial council with complete impartiality, transparency and responsibility. We see this opportunity to bring Manda Upazila BNP back to the constitutional path as a historic responsibility. 

We want to establish such leadership by evaluating those who are active in the field and have stood by the party during difficult times, which will give new strength and momentum to Manda Upazila BNP."

At the same time, another member of the committee, Md. Saidur Rahman Molla, said, "After a long time, the door to democratic practice is being opened in Manda Upazila BNP through this council. We want this council to be a place to fulfill the expectations of the workers. Every step of the election will be systematic, transparent and participatory. Our main goal is to organize the grassroots power of BNP, so that Manda can lead from the front in the movement and elections in the coming days."

According to grassroots BNP workers in Manda Upazila, the party has been facing organizational stagnation as no full-fledged Upazila committee has been formed for several years. The instability of leadership within the convening committee, uncertainty of positions and lack of central guidance have all led to intense frustration and anger among the leaders and activists.

Manda is now bustling with activity surrounding the announcement of the biennial council. Potential leaders are projecting their respective positions through posters, banners, video messages and personal statuses on social media, especially Facebook. Posters of leaders and activists are adorning various intersections and markets in the upazila. Discussions and criticism are going on in tea shops.

A youth leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "We want leadership who will be on the ground, standing by the leaders and activists. We don't want a committee just on paper—we want real leadership."

Many in the Upazila BNP believe that if the right leadership is elected through this conference, a new momentum will come to BNP politics in Manda. Especially in the BNP's movement-oriented strategy surrounding the 12th National Parliament elections, active, popular and strong leadership is very important.

“If this council is credible, Manda will not just get a committee—but will regain a stronghold for the BNP movement in Naogaon,” said a senior political analyst.

From the upazila to the remote villages of the union, a slogan is now going around "We want a full committee, we want the dignity of the workers". After a long wait, enthusiasm, expectations and confidence have returned among the workers surrounding the council. The workers feel that if the leadership is not restructured, the Manda will lag behind in major programs.