Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked her colleagues on the Awami League Presidium to resolve all internecine conflicts to effectively face the opposition parties In the next general elections.

She however did not say anything about the timing of the polls.

The PM who heads the ruling party gave the directive at a meeting of lts!5-member Presidium held at the Ganabhaban yesterday evening.

Hasina Is scheduled to leave for the US this morning on a two-week visit.

The AL chief told the Presidium members that the party might have to face a combined opposition in the next parliamentary polls.So there was no scope for the party leaders to sit on the internecine conflicts that surfaced in different party units across the country, a Pre-sidium member told The Daily Star quoting Hasina.

The meeting unanimously observed that the opposition parties, especially BNP. has already launched election campaign. “So we cannot afford to sit on intra-party problems," the PM told the meeting.

The AL chief formed a two-member committee to hear the leaders of the conflicting groups in Sylhet.

The committee members. AL General Secretary’ Zillur Rahman and Presidium member Abdul Momin. would hear the leaders Including Foreign Minister Abdus Samad Azad and PM's parliamentary affairs adviser Suranjit Sengupta The committee has been asked to submit its report to the PM after her return from the US. Both Samad Azad and Suranjit Sengupta were present at the meeting.

The Prime Minister also assigned some other leaders including Abdur Razzak. Tofall Ahmed and Abdul Jalil to visit different districts, especially those having weaker party-bases. to identity the potential party candidates lor the next parliamentary polls.

She referred to media reports about the conflicts among local party leaders in a Rangpur constituency ahead of a parliamentary by-elections and asked the leaders to look Into those.

Sajeda Chowdhury’ will be acting chief of the party during the absence of Hasina

Meanwhile, a senior leader of the Presidium said that the party leaders would hold a meeting Very soon' to chalk out country wide organisational tours.