The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which arguably became the country’s largest political party after the August uprising, has opposed a plan to ban its main rival, the Awami League (AL).

Many members of the current caretaker government led by Mohammad Yunus, especially the student leaders who led the uprising, have demanded the banning of the Awami League for its alleged tyranny over the past 15 years.

Significantly, despite being the main target of alleged persecution by Sheikh Hasina’s government, the BNP has opposed calls for a ban on the AL.

BNP general secretary Mirza Fakrul Islam Alamgir said banning any political party was wrong. “It is up to the people of the country to decide the fate of political parties. Who is anyone to ban a party? he asked.

Alamgir, who has always been an outspoken critic of Sheikh Hasina’s government and the Awami League, said the ban on political parties was undemocratic.

BNP secretary general also opposed attacks on political party offices. He condemned last week’s burning of the headquarters of the Jatiya Party, an ally of the Awami League, in Dhaka. Jatiya Party offices were also attacked in other parts of the country over the weekend.

These attacks were indirectly supported by some leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, the body that led the public uprising against Sheikh Hasina. The leaders of the movement are now part of the interim government.

Bangladeshi political analysts say the BNP’s opposition to attacks on Jatiya Party offices and demands to ban the Awami League marks the emergence of a rift between the BNP and the caretaker government led by Mohammad Yunus.

THE The BNP also demanded that parliamentary elections be held as soon as possible and that the Yunus administration has set a timetable for holding the elections.

Yunus hesitated to give a timetable for holding the parliamentary elections and only said that the elections would take place once reforms to the country’s Constitution, judiciary, police and public administration, electoral system and some other areas would be completed.

BNP leaders said Swarajya that the party believes that only a duly elected parliament has the mandate to carry out reforms.

“The interim government has formed ten reform commissions. We hope that these commissions will submit their recommendations in the coming months. Parliamentary elections should be held after this and Parliament should then debate these recommendations and implement them,” said Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, senior BNP leader. Swarajya.

But many members of the interim government want the reforms, notably those of the country’s Constitution, its electoral system, its judicial system and its public and police administration, to be implemented before elections are held and the formation of a new Parliament.

“The very objective of revolution will be defeated if elections are held under the current flawed system and another party comes to power and establishes a reign of tyranny similar to that of the Awami League. The people of Bangladesh revolted and overthrew the tyrannical and fascist regime of Sheikh Hasina so that the much-needed reforms to make Bangladesh a true democracy could be implemented,” said Hasnat Abdullah, coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement .

“Bangladesh is heading towards a major conflict between the BNP and other political parties, on the one hand, and the caretaker government, particularly the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, on the other. The political parties are worried and want the elections to take place as soon as possible. They will not wait for elections beyond mid-2025. But the reforms commission will take time to submit its reports and study its recommendations and reaching consensus on implementing these recommendations will take a lot of time,” said political analyst and commentator Sadaqat Ali. Swarajya.

Ali, a former professor at Dhaka University, added: “Political parties will not want to wait that long and will insist that it is the new Parliament that adopts the recommendations, debates them and decides on their implementation. This would put them on a collision course with the Yunus administration, especially student leaders.”

The BNP is also wary of moves by some members of the caretaker government to exclude the party from the country’s political arena under the so-called ‘minus two formula’.

BNP Secretary General Alamgir hinted at the measures on Sunday (3 November) and warned that any move to exclude the BNP, which is now the country’s largest political party, from politics would have “very serious consequences” .

There have been discussions among a section of advisors (ministers) in the Yunus administration and others outside it about excluding the BNP and the Awami League from elections in the near future.

Their argument is that the BNP, which was in power for two terms (1991 to 1996 and 2001 to 2006), was also very repressive and corrupt. According to them, the BNP is as responsible as the Awami League for the many systemic ills and faults affecting the country. Therefore, both parties should be kept away from active politics at least for the next few years until they (both parties) reform.

There was a similar move – to expel the BNP and AL from active politics – when the military-backed interim government of Bangladesh led by Fakruddin Ahmed clung to power for two years (from January 2007 to January 2009) until he was forced to hold elections. after sustained protests across the country.

At that time, there was a system of neutral caretaker rule that took office after the term of an elected government ended. The interim government, being neutral, held free and fair elections.

After the term of the second BNP government ended in October 2006, a caretaker government led by Iajuddin Ahmed (the country’s then president) took over and remained in office for just over ten weeks. Intense political conflict led to the intervention of the army and the installation of an administration led by Fakruddin Ahmed, former governor of the Bangladesh Bank.

The Ahmed administration launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign and prosecuted top leaders of the BNP and AL, including former prime ministers Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia. But nationwide protests led by political parties and international pressure forced Ahmed to declare elections which took place in late December 2008.

The Awami League won these elections and formed the government led by Sheikh Hasina in January 2009. One of its first actions was to abandon the system of holding elections under a caretaker government.

Furthermore, the BNP had demanded the restoration of the system of organizing elections under a neutral interim government before the last two legislative elections of December 2018 and December 2023. But Hasina’s refusal to do so led the BNP to boycott the elections. last two elections, leading to Western countries calling the polls “one-sided” and “rigged”.

Regardless, the decision to exclude the BNP and AL from active politics has been termed a “minus two” formula to reform the country’s political system and cleanse it of rampant corruption, nepotism and embezzlement.

This “minus two formula” is mentioned and advocated once again by certain leaders of the interim administration and by the new Gono Odhikar Parishad. Senior Parishad leaders, particularly its president Nurul Haq Nur, led the student uprising that toppled Sheikh Hasina’s government in early August.

BNP’s Alamgir warned on Sunday that “no one should even think of following this path (of excluding the BNP) from politics because the people of the country will never accept it and will vehemently oppose it.”

There is therefore growing distrust between the BNP and some leaders of the Yunus administration. The BNP is wary of the motivations of these leaders – student leaders and prominent figures associated with some NGOs, think tanks and academics – who it believes harbor political ambitions and want to seize power through the back door by delegitimizing the BNP.

This mistrust will inevitably lead to more problems for Bangladesh.