Several Chhatra Sangsad leaders resign amid allegations of 'party-linked politics', infighting over posts

Several leaders of Bangladesh Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad stepped down yesterday (18 August), citing allegations of party-linked politics and internal disputes over posts.

Moktosen Muktar, central joint convener of Chhatra Sangsad, announced his resignation in the afternoon, saying he could no longer be part of an organisation engaged in "party-linked politics".

In a Facebook post, he wrote, "My principles and ideals do not align with party-linked politics. To make my stance clear, I am resigning and will contest as an independent candidate for the vice-president post in the hall union against such politics."

He further said remaining in the organisation (Chhatra Sangsad) while opposing subservience politics would be "hypocritical", adding, "I cannot capitalise on the simplicity of ordinary students for political gain. That is why I am stepping down from my political post."

Muktar confirmed he would contest the VP position independently from Dhaka University's Shahid Sergeant Zahurul Huq Hall.

Earlier in the day, Sabbir Uddin Rion, assistant general secretary of the publications cell of Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad's Dhaka University chapter, also resigned. He declared that he would contest the upcoming Dhaka University Central Students' Union (Ducsu) elections from a separate panel named "DU First".

Meanwhile, Mahin Sarkar, central joint organising secretary of the National Citizen Party (NCP), announced that he too would contest the Ducsu general secretary (GS) post from another independent panel, instead of the Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad panel.

Speaking to The Business Standard, Mahin said, "I had discussions with Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad leaders about Ducsu, but when I was not given the expected position, I decided to run from another panel."

Regarding the resignations of leaders and other related issues, Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad Central Member Secretary Zahid Ahsan told TBS, "Those who resigned made some baseless allegations of party-linked politics on Facebook. We have not received any formal complaints from them."

Speaking about Mahin Sarker contesting from another panel, Zahid said, "We could not 'synchronise' the way Mahin wanted [the position he sought]. Since we aimed to form a diverse and inclusive panel, it was not possible to meet everyone's demands for their desired posts."