The assassination of President Ziaur Rahman on 30 May 1981 and the exit of the incumbent President Justice Abdus Sattar from power debilitated the BNP for some time. The party was looking for a rallying point replacing the ageing leadership of Justice Sattar.
While the workers were united, the leaders at the centre had different stakes. Many also blamed Justice Sattar for his failure to protect the government against the military intervention.
Thus entered Begum Zia and she played a gamechanger ... proving the prophets of doom wrong.
The military takeover by Army Chief Lt. Gen. Hussain Muhammad Ershad on 24 March 1982 failed to block, despite temporary setbacks, the forward march of the nationalist forces of Bangladesh led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
There were continuous attempts made to cause splits within the BNP and as part of those efforts some front ranking leaders were lured into joining Ershad. Everything said and done, the party survived all conspiracies to cripple and dismantle it.
As fissures developed in the BNP a debate came up about how to elect a Chairperson of the party and who should be nominated to contest in the upcoming Presidential election.
Incidentally, there were no provisions in the party constitution about how to fill the vacancy of the party chief, if any. There was also no provision to make a Vice-Chair the Acting Chair.
So, these two problems needed an urgent solution. Only the party National Executive Committee (NEC) could solve the problem. But without taking this provision into consideration some senior members decided to act on their own.
Khaleda's son Tarique Rahman with doctor wife and barrister daughter
There were internal squabbling. Without consulting others, Prime Minister Shah Azizur Rahman announced that Sattar had been nominated as the Chairperson and there was no dissent. Addressing the meeting, Sattar asked party leaders to hold two big public meetings in each thana and to air recorded speeches of Zia in these meetings to propagate the ideals of Zia, reports 'The Daily Star'.
Maj. Gen. Nurul Islam Shishu (Rtd.) and Lt. Col. Akbar Hossain (Rtd.) wanted to propose the name of Begum Khaleda Zia as the Presidential candidate. Some of the attendees were not prepared for such a proposal. Shishu and Akbar were of the opinion that the BNP needed the legacy of Zia and only Begum Zia carried that legacy. Pointing out that Begum Zia was not a member of the party, the group led by Shah Aziz refused to accept the proposal.
Scuffles broke out but were calmed. Ultimately, Shishu withdrew his proposal and Sattar qualified and was chosen to become the party candidate. As newspapers reported the incident saying that the party was facing a risk of split, Minister K.M. Obaidur Rahman in a statement said the news story about the possible split in the BNP was misleading and fabricated.
He claimed that he had been one of the MPs present in the Bangabhaban meeting and the MPs present had assured Sattar that they would work for him during the election. Those who were actively proposing the candidature of Sattar became so angry that they were about to beat Tariqul Islam and others.
(for details check 'The Daily Star' ....
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During the turbulent period in the party; though Khaleda Zia was seen and repeatedly proposed as the new saviour of the party, she did not show much interest, barring casually meeting some of the party leaders. In an interview with the Bangladesh Television in June 1981, she basically talked about her life with Zia and how she managed the domestic responsibilities.
But she was slowly coming out of her housewife's self, too.
On 28 January 1982, she was seen attending the opening ceremony of the newly-finished Jatiya Sangsad (JS) Complex, parliament complex of Bangladesh, by President Sattar.
Addressing the ceremony, Justice Sattar said the JS Complex on a lush green expanse and overlooking Zia's mazar would stand as a silent reminder of the late statesman's contribution to the revival of multi-party democracy in the country.
Curiously, Ershad also wanted Begum Zia to become Vice-President of the country.
A senior leader of the party, preferring anonymity, has said Ershad used both Anisul Islam Mahmud and Moudud Ahmed as the go-between to convey his suggestion to Begum Zia.
But she was very upset hearing about the proposal. "She firmly believed that Ershad had been behind the conspiracy to kill Zia," one of the party leaders said.
However, the move to replace Sattar as Chairperson of the party continued. Party leaders and workers were asking for an extended meeting of the party to decide on the issue.
The date to elect a Chairperson was set for 21 January 1982 and it was announced that 20 members of the electoral colleges of the country's 10 political districts, other than that of the candidate, would vote in the election.
Visible differences surfaced about the candidature of Khaleda Zia versus Justice Sattar for the post of party Chairperson. Justice Sattar went to Begum Zia's house for a one-on-one meeting around the noon on 3 January.
Though what transpired during the meeting of Begum Zia and Justice Sattar was not known it was reported that she was ready to join politics but was against any contest to become party Chairperson, says 'The Daily Star' report.
Khaleda Zia addresses a public rally on 23 February 1991. Photo: The Daily Star
In a sudden move on 7 January, Begum Zia withdrew from the race even before the election commission of the party could sit for scrutinising the nomination papers. So Justice Sattar was elected BNP Chairman unoppŠ¾sed.
However, differences persisted. And ultimately; she emerged as the leader of BNP.
Tariqul Islam said: We were convinced that if she had joined politics she would be carrying the charisma of Zia and this would be an added advantage for the BNP.
Moreover, we were convinced that once she joined politics and was adorned by people she would not think of a personal life for her".
ends
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