BNP’s Enam Ahmed joins Awami League

Senior BNP leader Enam Ahmed Chowdhury has left his party and joined ruling Awami League in an abrupt turn of events.

Enam was a vice-chairman of BNP and an adviser to the party’s Chairperson Khaleda Zia before he resigned on Wednesday evening.

He then called on Prime Minister and Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina at her official residence, Ganabhaban, in Dhaka and officially joined the ruling party, her Deputy Press Secretary Ashraful Alam Khokon told reporters.

Khokon said Enam had greeted the prime minister with a bouquet of flowers and stressed that he had faith in Sheikh Hasina's leadership.

Former bureaucrat Enam Chaudhury was chairman of the Privatisation Commission during the BNP-led government.

He had also served as the convener of BNP’s Foreign Affairs Committee. Enam was hoping to run with BNP’s ticket from Sylhet 1 constituency. He was in the primary list of BNP nominees, but later left out.

BNP then nominated Abdul Muktadir to contest the December 30 general election from that seat.

Several leaders of BNP’s Sylhet district unit think Enam left the party after he was rejected candidature from Sylhet 1. They said that it was wrong of the party high command to shun Enam.

The unit’s President Abdul Kaher Shamim also told the Bangla Tribune: “I have heard that he [Enam] left BNP. This is undeniably a huge loss for the party.”

No senior BNP leaders, including members of its National Standing Committee, were available for comment.