Dhaka: Though some Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leaders are apparently maintaining the nerve that they are not at all worried over party leader Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury’s resignation, they are in fact struggling hard to keep the party unharmed.

A number of party leaders wishing anonymity said they fear that the list of leaders quitting the party may get larger as a tremendous pressure on their many senior leaders to desert it mounting.

Succumbed to the pressure, they said, a good number of party senior leaders remain inactive in politics and hardly join any party programme. ‘Only four party standing committee members — Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman, Hannan Shah, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy and Nazrul Islam Khan-- are seen taking part in party programmes. The rest are either inactive, sick or on the run,’ said party leader.

He said the ruling party leaders’ over enthusiasm about Mobin’s resignation and their remarks that BNP to fall apart gave them an impression that there is a fresh move to put their party in trouble.

Besides, they said, Ziaur Rahman’s younger brother Ahmed Kamal’s initiative to hold a ‘sudden’ milad mahfil on Wednesday in the city for Ziaur Rahman and his deceased family members raised their doubt about a fresh conspiracy against BNP.

BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia at a civic meeting in London also alleged that the government is trying to destroy her party to cling to power. ‘It won’t be possible to split BNP,’ she asserted.

‘A fresh plot may be hatched to split BNP as it was done after the 1/11 changeover. This time the conspirators may try to use Ahmed Kamal to break the party’s unity. But I think conscious leaders won’t be confused by any quarter taking lesson from the 1/11 aftermath,’ a BNP vice chairman told UNB requesting anonymity.

He said a quarter is also trying to use a group of low-profile BNP leaders, including a former whip and MP, to split BNP.

The BNP leader told the news agency that the government may chose this time to keep BNP busy putting its own house in order by trying to split BNP so that it get no scope to  create any Januray-5 like situation as it did last year as the date is approaching fast.

‘There were various moves in the past to break BNP but those turned futile. The government may now try to do the same as part of its fresh strategy. But our party will also take a counter-strategy to foil it,’ BNP standing committee member Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman told UNB.

About Ziaur Rahman’s brother’s milad mahfil, he said he does not know him. ‘I don’t know why he is holding this programme. His intention can be good, but if he has any ill-motive the party men will give him a befitting reply.’

BNP standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan said the government as their political opponent is likely to try to waken them. ‘Some ruling party leaders are saying our party will fall apart. But we think if the government takes such move it will turn pointless and backfire.’

He said BNP will remain united and a stronger braving all obstacles and adversities as it was in the past.

Nazrul, however, doubted the intention of Ahmed Kamal’s milad programme. ‘I was not invited to this programme. But I got surprised hearing about such a programme. What’s his intention? Why has he taken such an initiative suddenly? We’ll carefully watch this programme.’

BNP standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy said, ‘There were foul plays of splitting political parties in the past and it will remain in the future, too. Awami League also faced many moves of breaking the party, but no one could eliminate it.’

He said BNP is still the country’s most popular party and it will not be affected if a few leaders fall into the government’s trap and quit BNP.