Jatiya Party chair GM Quader on Monday appointed former lawmaker Shamim Haider Patwari as the party’s new secretary general, replacing Mujibul Haque Chunnu in a sudden move that has intensified the ongoing factional feud within the party.
Shortly after the announcement of Patwari’s appointment, GM Quader also declared the removal of three senior leaders — senior co-chair Anisul Islam Mahmud, co-chair ABM Ruhul Amin Howlader, and outgoing secretary general Mujibul Haque Chunnu — from all party posts.
The announcement was made in two separate press releases issued by the chair’s press secretary, Khandaker Delwar Jalali.
Speaking to New Age, Anisul Islam Mahmud said, ‘The party chair has no right to expel us after announcing the national conference. Such expulsions and the appointment of a new secretary general are undemocratic and violate the party constitution. We will not accept the decision.’
He added, ‘Mujibul Haque Chunnu remains our party secretary general, and a new central committee will be formed in the next council session.’
Mujibul echoed the view, saying that the chair’s actions were beyond his authority and that key decisions must be made at the upcoming council session.
He added, ‘The party chair cannot arbitrarily postpone the announced party conference.’
The leadership shake-up came amid rising tensions between two factions of the JP’s senior leadership. The divide became starkly visible after the announcement of the party’s national council last month, which exposed deepening rifts within the party.
Chunnu, a former lawmaker and a state minister, had been serving as secretary general since October 9, 2021, following the death of then-secretary general Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu on October 2, 2021. Now, amid the leadership conflict, GM Quader has replaced him with Shamim Patwari.
Shamim Patwari, a Supreme Court lawyer, was first elected MP from Gaibandha-1 in a 2018 by-election and re-elected in the contentious December 2018 national elections. However, he lost the seat in the 12th parliamentary polls held on January 7, 2024.
Patwari previously served as an adviser to late JP chair HM Ershad, additional secretary general of the party, and most recently as a presidium member.
In a statement, the JP said that during a views-exchange meeting on June 25, district and metropolitan unit leaders brought allegations of breaching party discipline against the three senior figures and demanded disciplinary action.
Subsequently, on June 28, a meeting of the party presidium decided to relieve them of all positions for their alleged misconduct.
The statement noted that GM Quader exercised his authority under the party constitution to implement the decision, which has already come into effect.
Meanwhile, Anisul Islam Mahmud, a former minister, and Ruhul Amin Howlader, a former party general secretary, issued a joint statement fiercely opposing Shamim Patwari’s appointment as secretary general, calling the move ‘highly undemocratic, unconstitutional, and a direct violation of the party constitution.’
They accused GM Quader of unilateral decision-making, saying such actions ‘represent autocratic personal whims’ that endanger the party’s existence.
They insisted that only the national council could decide appointments or removals, not the chair alone, and said that Mujibul Haque Chunnu remains the party’s legitimate and respected secretary general.
They further argued, ‘As per the party presidium’s decision, a national council has already been declared. Therefore, according to the party constitution, any appointment, dismissal, or expulsion during this period is illegal and invalid. These decisions are destroying the party’s democratic structure.’
