Thursday, August 3 2006 16:38 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Dhaka: Former Bangladesh president H.M. Ershad is gathering wide support from within his Jatiya Party for his move to strike an alliance with the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in time for elections next year.

However, media reports indicate that his brother, G.M. Qader, a lawmaker of his party, is opposing the proposed alliance.

He is among the minority of party leaders, who feel that the alliance led by Prime Minister Zia would lose the elections because of a number of factors, including a rise in the prices of essential commodities, The Daily Star said.

Qader, who is also a member of the party presidium, the decision-making body, did not attend a meeting convened by Ershad.

Of the 13 party presidium members, three lawmakers expressed dissatisfaction at it while 10 were supportive of Ershad, the newspaper said quoting party sources.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP), which had moved away from Ershad to join the ruling alliance four years ago, is happy at the new developments. Its chairman, Naziur Rahman Manzur, welcomed his former leader's initiative to join the four-party alliance.