According to a claim on Thursday from Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Secretary-General İsmet Büyükataman, the Gülen Movement is cooperating with the opposition and even plans to form a new party if current MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli continues to lead the party.
In a written statement Büyükataman said they are aware of "certain circles," a terms used euphemistically for Gülenists, that intend to turn the MHP into a puppet or, at least, realize their agenda with a new party.
He added that the intra-party opposition passionately demanded an extraordinary congress in the party without evaluating the situation after the Nov. 1 general elections.
Bahçeli seems to have stood up to Gülenists when he commented on the possible candidates for the MHP chairmanship in a parliamentary group meeting on Dec. 1. Without explicitly naming anyone, he said: "Thirteen fellow members declared their candidacy for the chairmanship. One of them does not have such a right because he [Sinan Oğan] was expelled. Then there is one candidate who joined the MHP as a political figure from the Gülen Movement."
His remarks caused eyes to turn on one of the candidates, former MHP deputy Meral Akşener, whose alleged ties with the controversial Gülen Movement have been intensely speculated on by the media. Although she has denied the allegations, saying "Everyone knows that I have no ties with any movement or group and I do not commit my will to third parties," rumors continue concerning her alleged ties.
Having adopted a poised policy on the Gülen Movement so far, Bahçeli has now declared a so-called war against Gülenists in his party and has claimed that Akşener is a political figure of the Gülen Movement.
Dissidents in the MHP have so far made their dissatisfaction with Bahçeli publicly known. Pointing to Bahçeli's leadership failure in the Nov. 1 elections, dissidents now exert efforts to call for an extraordinary congress even though Bahçeli has repeatedly stressed that the date for the congress is set for March 2018.
Reportedly, Bahçeli had earlier prepared a 250-page report about the infiltration of his party by the Gülen Movement and pursued a balanced policy toward it for fear of himself and the party.
The Gülen Movement has most negatively affected the MHP out of all parties, considering the movement's publishing of videos to blackmail several MHP members in recent years.
