Rumeen Farhana, Saiful Alam Nirab and 7 other Top Leaders Expelled for Election Defiance

In a significant disciplinary crackdown, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has expelled nine prominent leaders, including former MP and firebrand orator Barrister Rumeen Farhana, for defying the party's strategic decisions regarding the upcoming 13th National Election.

The announcement, made on Tuesday (December 30) evening, coincided with the day of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s passing, signaling the party's strict stance on organizational unity even amidst a national period of mourning.

The leaders were expelled for "violating party discipline" by filing nomination papers as independent candidates after failing to secure official party tickets or by contesting in seats allocated to alliance partners.

The purge includes five members of the National Executive Committee. Notable names are, Rumeen Farhana: Former Joint International Affairs Secretary. Saiful Alam Nirab: Former convener of BNP Dhaka North city unit. Tarun Dey: Secretary General of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Welfare Front. Executive Members: Muhammad Gias Uddin, Mohammad Shah Alam, Hasan Mamun, and Abdul Khaleq. Local Leaders: Mamunur Rashid (Sylhet) and Mehdi Hasan Polash (Bancharampur).

All individuals have been stripped of their primary membership and removed from all organizational posts at every level of the party. Rumeen Farhana had collected nomination papers for the Brahmanbaria-2 constituency. The BNP had notably left this seat vacant for its alliance partner, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh, specifically for Maulana Junayed Al Habib.

Despite the party's decision, Rumeen stated that she had informed the high command of her intent to run independently well in advance. "The party will decide in its own way, and I will follow my own," she told reporters, emphasizing that her decision was not a secret.

The expulsion comes just one day after the nomination submission deadline. With nearly 200 BNP-linked leaders reportedly filing as independents across the country, this move is seen as a "warning shot" to others to withdraw their candidacy or face similar permanent expulsion.