BNP targets 10m new members in two months

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), buoyed by momentum after the political changeover last year, has set an ambitious goal to enrol more than 10 million new members within two months.

Speaking at a media briefing on Thursday, Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said the campaign will be held from May 15 to Jul 15.

The decision came at a meeting of the committee on the party’s primary membership renewal activities at the BNP’s central office in Naya Paltan on Thursday.

Rizvi said, “The renewal and the member enrolment campaign will be held from May 15 to Jul 15.

“To implement the programme nationwide at a fast pace... we have targeted to take in more than 10 million primary members this time.”

The BNP gained traction following the fall of the Awami League government in the face of a mass uprising on Aug 5, 2024. The party held an extended meeting on Feb 27 after a gap of seven years.

The party plans to hold a national conference this year, and to this end, committees have been formed across all districts. BNP’s last national conference, the 6^th National Council, was held on Mar 19, 2016.

Rizvi said, “No regular political activities could be carried out during the Awami League’s fascist era. You witnessed that they frequently attacked this party office and destroyed things needed to run it, like computers, typewriters, fax machines, etc.”

He said, “The institutions that exist for establishing democracy in the country, like political parties, are formed through a fair rule of law. They [Awami League] have relentlessly attacked the opposition parties to completely destroy that rule of law and to maintain the one-party authoritarianism.”

The campaign will help to figure out how many people are interested in the BNP, according to Rizvi.

“We hope that people from all walks of life, who love the BNP and cherish the spirit of nationalism, will be interested in joining the party.”

On a query over whether anyone from the Awami League could join the BNP, he replied: “Why can’t those who did politics for a long time or left the Awami League due to the party’s misrule, barbaric activities, looting and money laundering join?”

The aspirants will have to buy the membership form at Tk 20 each and submit it with an application which is mandatory per the BNP’s constitution. These forms will be scrutinised later before enrolling new members, he added.