With the new committee of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), headed by Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu and Shahabuddin Laltu, determined to carry out its programmes to observe the party's 23rd founding anniversary despite the rival activists' plan to resist them, bloody violence is feared across the city today.

The new committee has outlined a programme featuring hoisting of national and party flags at the central office at Nayapaltan, placing of wreath at the mazaar of late President Ziaur Rahman and holding of a rally at Muktangan at 2-30 pm today.

Although the leadership, policymakers and senior members of the BNP are anticipating untoward incidents in the city today, the party hasn't so far taken any step to avert them.

Sources say that supporters of both the groups have taken final preparation to confront each other. It has become a prestige issue for both, they observed.

The Pintu-Laltu faction, according to the insiders, has organised a huge number of non-students and armed cadres for successful completion of the programmes. Its rivals have taken "necessary measures", too, to foil the plans of the new committee at any cost.

A number of senior BNP leaders invited to the programmes by the new committee have already declined in fear of fresh violence.

Majority of the JCD leaders and activists has rejected the new committee. They have staged a series of demonstrations demanding its cancellation and also laid siege to the party's central office since the announcement was made on December 23.

The JCD units of Dhaka University, the city's south and north, Jagannath College, BUET, Dhaka College, Titumir College and other important educational institutions have already declared the new leadership persona non grata on their campuses and offices.

After the announcement, residences of top-ranked BNP leaders came under attack and the party's central office was set afire.

New leaders have apparently gone into hiding for fear of attack by their rivals.

The BNP chairperson announced a partial central body of JCD and asked leaders concerned to form a full-fledged committee through consultation with aggrieved activists.

But the JCD leaders and activists refused to accept Pintu and Laltu as president and general secretary of the student organisation and refused to participate in any discussion until the new committee was dissolved.

At the instruction of the chairperson, a junior BNP leader has already made a number of phone calls to Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu to collect the keys of the JCD central office. Pintu hasn't turned as yet. However, while talking to The Daily Star Pintu expressed determination that the new committee would get on with its programmes and face its rivals politically.

Leaders and activists opposed to the new committee have already declared that they wouldn't allow Pintu and Laltu to hoist flags at JCD central office in the morning, visit Zia's mazaar or hold the rally at Muktangan.

They have vowed to maintain

siege to the central office at any cost and hoist the national and the party flags in the early morning. Besides they have plans to bring out processions on the campuses of Dhaka University and other educational institutions to mark the day.

Sources said that leaders opposed to the new committee had decided to deploy activists at different strategic points of the city to stop supporters of Pintu and Laltu from attending the Muktangan rally.

Intra-party bickering within the BNP over formation of the controversial JCD central committee has intensified with both the hardliners and moderate factions resorting to mudslinging. The hardliners blame the moderates for instigating wild demonstrations in the capital and elsewhere in the country against the Pintu-Laltu Committee, although, according to sources, those were spontaneous.

The agitation may further intensify if the new committee is not immediately cancelled, observed one source.