BNP trying to woo Islamic parties
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has taken an initiative to expand their communications with the anti-fascist parties, especially the Islamic parties.
As part of the attempt, on Wednesday night, the party leaders held a meeting with the leaders of Khelafat Majlis, once a component of the BNP-led 20-party alliance that had left due to a “special context” in October 2021.
The initiative has been taken in the context of post 5-August student-people uprising and taking into account the next general elections, sources said. There could be more such meetings in the coming days, they added.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan represented the party in the first meeting with their former allies in three years. On the other hand, Khelafat Majlis Ameer Maulana Abdul Basit Azad, secretary general Ahmad Abdul Kader and seven others joined the meeting.
BNP held the meeting with their previous allies at a time when Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman paid a courtesy visit to Islami Andolan Bangladesh Ameer Syed Mohammad Rezaul Karim in Barishal on the previous day, Tuesday. They had lunch together there.
Despite some ideological differences between the two Islamist parties, the Jamaat Ameer paid the visit, finding out a scope amid a party meeting in Barishal.
The two parties, however, have been flexible regarding each other since 5 August. In this context, a top Jamaat leader visited the home of the top leader of Islami Andolan Bangladesh.
This development in relations between the two parties is being considered significant for the next elections and future politics in the country.
Speaking about this, Islami Andolan Bangladesh senior joint secretary general Gazi Ataur Rahman told Prothom Alo Wednesday, “We the Islamist parties have been trying to come closer. This was a part of that initiative. This was, though, a courtesy meeting. Jamaat ameer had programmes in Barishal. Despite that the ameers of the two parties held a meeting and addressed a press briefing together. This has a significance. We consider this an auspicious beginning.”
However, Jamaat-e-Islami nayeb-e-ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher stated that this meeting with Charmonai Pir was “nothing final”.
He told Prothom Alo Wednesday night, “We went there taking a decision, they also accepted us cordially. This is nothing final; it is not that we have reached a consensus. We are seeing this positively, they also have considered this the same way.”
When the newspersons asked BNP’s reactions about the meeting of Jamaat ameer and Islami Andolan Bangladesh ameer, BNP standing Nazrul Islam Khan, who is also in charge of maintaining liaison with other parties, said, “Whoever is doing politics in Bangladesh, could think of or decide to work jointly with the people they will feel comfortable to work with to advance their politics. There could be no reason to worry about anyone else about this.”
“Once one party opposed other parties, and criticised them; at another time, they reached a consensus regarding the movement. What is so abnormal there! Those who have reached a consensus today, may not be so tomorrow. There is nothing to be surprised there either. That is why we don’t think there is any reason to make remarks or be worried about those things,” he added.
Issues BNP, Khelafat reach in consensus
Both BNP and Khelafat Majlis have agreed on seven issues including holding the parliamentary elections within 2025 by completing necessary reforms quickly.
Khelafat Majlis secretary general Ahmad Abdul Kader spoke about the issues at a joint press conference after the meeting at the party’s Gulshan office.
The seven issues are - continuing dialogues for solidifying national unity; being the bigger party, BNP will have to take this initiative; organising the general elections within 2025 by completing necessary reforms quickly; controlling price hike; taking initiatives for development of law and order situation; playing a positive role in upholding Islamic values and maintaining religious harmony; keeping national unity intact so that the fallen dictator and fascism cannot spring up again; taking steps for speedy trial of people involved with murder, enforced disappearance, and torture; withdrawing trumped-up cases filed against clerics and political leaders and activists during the government of Awami League soon.
The Khelafat Majlis secretary general said, “We consider maintaining unity among the anti-fascist political parties is important for the sake of the nation. We have agreed on this.”
Earlier, BNP leader Nazrul Islam Khan explained in brief the context and the reason for the meeting with Khelafat Majlis.
He said they discussed what should be done for fulfilling the aspirations of the people in this changed political and socio-economic conditions.
“We waged movement in unison for a long time based on agreements on certain issues. We did not have any such contradictions in the discussion,” he stressed.
Possibility of meetings with other components that left alliance
Relevant sources said BNP took the initiative to hold the meeting with Khelafat Majlis. That source further said some more meetings are likely to be held with components that left the alliance in the past.
Once, Jamaat-e-Islami and various other Islamic parties waged movements and contested elections as allies of the BNP. Of them, two factions of Islami Oikya Jote, Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Bangladesh and Khelafat Majlis are notable. Ultimately, all those parties left the BNP-led alliance at different times. However, the Islamic parties that stayed with the alliance were mainly the factions of those parties. Those factions do not have registration as political parties with the election commission.
Islami Oikya Jote of late Mufti Fazlul Haque Amini was one of the first parties to leave the alliance in 2016. Khelafat Majlis of Shaikhul Hadith left the alliance before that.
Besides, Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Bangladesh and Khelafat Majlis left the alliance centering the violent clash that erupted over Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Dhaka in March 2021.
Cases were filed against many top leaders of the two parties and were arrested. There was a discussion that they left the BNP-led alliance at that time coming under pressure.
Later, 60 leaders of Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Bangladesh were released after the party announced leaving the BNP-led alliance. Apart from them, Khelafat Majlis secretary general Ahmad Abdul Kader was also released from jail when the party left the alliance.
Now BNP has started reaching out to some of those parties. It has been learned that the party has communications with the top leaders of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis.
Speaking about the overall situation, Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Bangladesh secretary general Manjurul Islam Afendi Wednesday night told Prothom Alo, “There is a chance of meeting with the BNP. We will let you know if we can reach a consensus after the discussion.”
As of today BNP has been maintaining a distance with Jamaat-e-Islami since the elections in 2018.
Political analyst professor Mahbub Ullah views the separate initiatives of BNP and Jamaat as an attempt to increase their weight in power politics.
He told Prothom Alo that this is the trend with the political parties who do politics for assuming power.
* The report, originally published in the print and online editions of Prothom Alo, has been rewritten in English by Shameem Reza