Bangladesh Chhatra League central committee will be made of the leaders chosen by the organisation members through elections, said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also the president of ruling Awami League, on Saturday.

She brought an end to the speculations over the committee formation for BCL in its 28th council session that began on Saturday.

So far, there have been plenty of discussions over how the next president and general secretary of BCL, a pro-Awami League students’ organisation, will be chosen.

Attending the council session, which will continue till Sunday, at the Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka on Saturday, the prime minister said that direct votes from the organisation’s councillors will elect new BCL leaders.

‘BCL was the first to use transparent ballot boxes in the country,’ said Sheikh Hasina, adding that the same trend will continue.

Sheikh Hasina, also the president of Awami League, mentioned that only regular students will be eligible for being student leaders.

‘Only those who are meritorious, regular students, attentive to their studies will have to be elected,’ the said PM who asked the BCL leaders and activists to carry on with their studies alongside politics.

Apart from Sheikh Hasina, the council session was attended by scores of Awami League central committee leaders, including commerce minister Tofail Ahmed and road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader, two veteran politicians who once led the students’ organisation during its heydays. Leaders of AL’s other sister organisations were also present at the meeting.

BCL leaders and activists of different units from across the country attended the council session.

The two-day 28th central council is being held after a gap of four years, for which the PM, chief guest at the session, blamed the political upheaval spearheaded by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party in 2013. The BCL held its last council session on 10 July 2011.

Some 64 aspirants are vying for the president post and 142 candidates for the general secretary post in the council.

Nominations of 35 aspirants — 14 for president and 21 for general secretary — were cancelled on various reasons, including overage.

BCL president HM Badiujjaman Sohag announced the date of the council at a press conference held at Madhur Canteen of Dhaka University on 8 May this year.