Manju’s ‘Surprise’ Appearance at BNP Nomination Aspirants’ Meeting
- Update Time : Monday, 27 October, 2025, 10:45 am
- 79 Time View
In Khulna, Nazrul Islam Manju was one of the founding figures of BNP politics. For 30 of BNP’s 46 years, he served as president and general secretary of the city BNP, and also as divisional organizational secretary for Khulna. However, in December 2021, due to internal conflict, he was excluded from the central committee’s convening body. He was also relieved from the post of divisional organizational secretary and dropped from the central committee altogether. Even his followers were selectively removed from every city unit committee.
Despite these setbacks, Manju did not give up. He continued organizing political programs independently, holding separate events with his supporters in line with every central directive. Four years later, his persistence seems to have paid off — despite holding no official position, he was invited to attend Monday’s meeting with BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman in Gulshan as a nomination aspirant. This unexpected development has made his supporters highly active on social media.
Nazrul Islam Manju’s association with BNP politics in Khulna spans 46 years. He began his political journey in 1979 with Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (BNP’s student wing). From 1987, he served as joint convener of Khulna City BNP; from 1992, he was general secretary for 17 years, and from 2009 to December 9, 2021, he held the presidency for 12 years. In the 2008 national elections, he won as a BNP candidate under the “Sheaf of Paddy” symbol. For over four decades, Khulna BNP and Nazrul Islam Manju were synonymous. However, his rivals accused him of running the organization autocratically and favoring his loyalists.
The turning point of his political career came in December 2021. On December 9, BNP announced a three-member convening committee for Khulna City, excluding Manju and his followers. On December 12, he held a press conference demanding a review of this decision. In response, he was issued a show-cause notice on December 14 and was removed from the divisional organizational secretary post on December 25.
Unable to accept this outcome, Manju’s followers began mass resignations the very next day. For a while, Manju and his supporters remained politically inactive. During this time, the city, thana, and 31 ward BNP conferences took place — all excluding Manju’s faction. Six months later, Manju and his supporters returned to the streets, organizing rallies under separate banners at every major central event and celebrating national days on a grand scale.
Khulna City BNP’s former joint secretary, Principal Tariqul Islam, said, “People want a capable and skilled organizer like him (Manju) to lead the party or to represent them in the National Parliament as a trustworthy figure.”
On the overall situation, Nazrul Islam Manju said, “I have never left the party. Not for a single day did I betray BNP. In every program, BNP activists in Khulna spent from their own pockets to implement activities alongside me. They faced cases and attacks. Without holding any position, a large number of dedicated leaders and workers have carried BNP’s politics forward with me. They are the true devoted activists — they had no positions or personal demands, only the determination to execute the directives of acting chairman Tarique Rahman.”
He added, “My invitation to attend the nomination aspirants’ meeting in Dhaka has stirred a new kind of discussion within Khulna BNP. It feels like the party has come back to life. I am always ready to accept and abide by the party’s decisions, as I always have.”
