Supporters of Raushan Ershad have held a media briefing after occupying the Jatiya Party's headquarters in Dhaka's Kakrail for around one and a half hours.

Around 50 party members, led by Kazi Mamunur Rashid, the acting secretary general of Raushan's faction, gathered at the office in Bijoy Nagar around 10:30 am on Friday. They entered the building after paying tribute to the party's founder HM Ershad.

Internal strife has been a longstanding issue within the main opposition in parliament and the discord over leadership started to peak after the death of Ershad in 2019.

Ershad's wife Raushan and brother GM Quader have time and again made it clear that they want more control than the other.

The rift once again came to the fore on Jan 28 when Raushan declared herself the party chief, dismissing Chairman Quader and General Secretary Mojibul Haque Chunnu from their roles.

Chunnu, however, brushed aside Raushan's claim to party leadership, and said her "ceremonial" role as chief patron did not grant her decision-making power within the party.

Amid the infighting, Quader was named the Leader of the Official Opposition in parliament as the Jatiya Party became the main opposition party for a third consecutive term.

Mamunur slammed Quader and Chunnu for 'damaging the party's image'. "Under the leadership of Raushan Ershad, we now have a strong, revitalised group to take the party forward."