The road might be bumpy for Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in the next parliamentary election as new challenges will emerge in the days to come.
Although arch rival Bangladesh Awami League is now not in the scene, several Islamic parties including Jamaat-e-Islami are organising themselves and may jointly contest the polls. Moreover, the Students against Discrimination platform, which toppled the Sheikh Hasina government through its movement, may form a political party. They too can join the election.
Under the changed circumstances, the choice of the people may also undergo a change. In the last five decades, the people have seen the main political parties, especially Awami League and BNP, running the country. In four more or less acceptable elections of 1990, 1996, 2001 and 2008, people had no other choice but Awami League and BNP.
Although BNP remained out of power for about 18 years, the party was united. The Awami League-led government spared no efforts to split BNP, but to no avail
After the fall of Sheikh Hasina amid the student-people's mass uprising on 5 August, expectations of the people ran high as they were freed from a 15-year misrule of Awami League. Freedom of expression and free press had been curbed, voting rights of the people were snatched away, and corruption engulfed the entire society. Enforced disappearance and suppression of opposition parties were the norm for the entire period. People suffered from high inflation and high unemployment.
Amid such circumstances, an interim government led by Dr Muhammad Yunus took over on 8 August. After executing some reforms, the interim government is to organise the national election and hand over power to the elected government. However, the interim government has not yet presented their roadmap, but they said they have no intention to hold on to power.
In this backdrop, BNP secretary Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir called upon the interim government to present the roadmap and to start dialogue with the political parties.
A BNP delegation led by Mirza Fakhrul Islam held a meeting with chief adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus on 29 August.
After the meeting Fakhrul told the media that they had held a fruitful meeting with the chief adviser. They believe the interim government will move towards holding an election after carrying out necessary reforms, he added.
People, who are the genuine owners of the country, may be averse to the traditional politics of vengeance!
But the question is how far the party is prepared to contest the election in a changed circumstance. Although BNP remained out of power for about 18 years, the party was united. The Awami League-led government spared no efforts to split BNP, but to no avail.
After the ouster of Sheikh Hasina and with Awami League leaders going into hiding, a section of BNP leaders and activists is active everywhere across the country, and they are indulging in various criminal activities including extortion.
With the fall of the government, the control of extortion also changed hands, according to a Prothom Alo report titled, 'Extortion in transport sector changes hands from AL to BNP' published on 21 August.
The report says around Tk 20 billion is collected every year in the name of transport owners and workers associations. Tk 70 is collected from every bus openly every day. Besides, a huge amount of money used to be extorted on daily and monthly basis in the name of ‘gate pass’ or membership fee for the association.
Meanwhile, BNP has expelled leaders and activists across the country on charges of various allegations including extortion. “If anyone in your area comes to extort money in the name of BNP, capture them first and then hand them over to police,” Prothom Alo English quoted BSS as saying. The BNP leader was speaking at a gathering before distributing relief among flood affected people at Chhoto Sharifpur area under Lalmai upazila in Cumilla on 31 August.
On the occasion of BNP's 46th founding anniversary in a video message on 1 September, BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman said, "My clear message to you is, win the hearts of the people with justice and kindness, not by displaying strength or invoking fear. Win people's love."
In absence of arch rival Awami League, the BNP high command realises that the party might face new challenges in the next parliamentary election as the people, who look for change for the better, might keep the the party under sharp surveillance. So the BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and acting chairman Tarique Rahman are repeatedly alerting the leaders and activists of different tiers. People, who are the genuine owners of the country, may be averse to the traditional politics of vengeance!
*Rabiul Islam is a journalist at Prothom Alo. He can be reached at rabiul.islam@prothomalo.com