THERE ARE indications surfacing from Bangladesh that the country may go for national elections by this year if the concerned political parties agree to accept a minimal reform in various administrative, financial and electoral agencies with assurances that the winning representatives in Jatiya Sansad (National Assembly/Parliament) will continue pursuing the reform process in the south Asian country. Professor Muhammad Yunus who took the leadership of an interim government in Dhaka soon after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted by a student-led mass movement in July-August 2024 continues asserting that Bangladesh needs a major reform in various sectors including civil & police administration, anti-corruption departments, financial institutions, judicial and electoral system to bring the Muslim majority nation on the right tracks. The caretaker government head has already directed the responsible authorities to prepare for the general elections by December 2025. The 12th Parliamentary elections, held on 7 January 2024, was won by Hasina’s Awami League party unilaterally.
Lately, over 20 political parties including Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Bangladesh Jamaat-e Islami, newly-formed National Citizen Party (NCP) etc submitted their opinions to the National Consensus Commission, which is planning to talk to other political parties in the coming days. Headed by Prof Yunus himself, the commission sent some recommendations to nearly 35 political parties asking their opinions. The recommendations were picked up from five reform commissions namely the constitution reform commission, public administration reform commission, electoral system reform commission, judiciary reform commission and administrative reforms commission. Till now, Hasina’s party is not in the scene and it’s difficult to guess if Awami League will be allowed to participate in the polls.
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But Prof Yunus recently made a public comment that the interim government has no plan to ban the party, which ruled Bangladesh for the last three consecutive terms (2009 to 2024). He however asserted that all individuals within the Awami League (including Hasina), who are accused of mass crimes, will have to face trials. Many political party leaders and influential individuals involved with the monsoon (July-Aug 24) revolution criticized Prof Yunus for his soft approach to Awami League. Some even alleged that Bangladesh army chief Waker Uz Zaman was pushing for the party, so that they can participate in the elections. They also termed it a conspiracy to rehabilitate Hasina’s party as ‘Refined Awami League’ and ultimately bring the deposed premier back from India. However, the Bangladesh armed forces rejected all allegations and made it clear that they had no interest in installing any political party. NCP convener Nahid Islam demanded to ban the Awami League and asserted that no attempt to rehabilitate the ‘fascist party’ will be allowed. Terming the Hasina’s party as a terrorist outfit, the young leader commented that Awami League can no longer be regarded as a political party. Jamaat-e Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman also warned that the process of rehabilitating Hasina and her party will not be accepted by the people of Bangladesh.
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Currently, the lone Nobel laureate of Bangladesh is looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a one-to-one discussion during an important summit in Bangkok. His administration in Dhaka had already made a formal request to the Union government in New Delhi for a bilateral meeting with PM Modi on the sidelines of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit, scheduled for 2-4 April in the Thai capital city. India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar stated that the particular proposal was under consideration but political observers believe that it is highly unlikely. There may be many reasons, but some recent developments that strains the New Delhi-Dhaka relation, primarily because of Hasina’s continued exile in India, will probably deter PM Modi from having a meeting with Prof Yunus in Bangkok.
(Nava Thakuria is a senior Indian journalist who contributes to various media outlets including print and digital platforms of India and across the world.)