by Qadir Kallol &Selim Zahid in Prothom Alo, Oct 1, 2023
Within October, BNP wants to reach the final stages of its one-point movement for the resignation of the government. To this end it is considering programmes such as long marches to Dhaka, sieges and blockades. On the other hand, the government and Awami League are determined to hold the election on time and plan to remain in the fray with the support of the administration and its political strength.
Neither side are showing any sign of relenting. BNP is preparing its programmes so as to take the streets of the capital city under control within October. And the government is talking about counter programmes to keep the Dhaka streets in its control, notwithstanding international pressure. The people fear that the threats and counter threats of the two sides will create uncertainty in politics this October.
The election commission has spoken about declaring the election schedule in the start of November for the national parliament election to be held in the first week of January next year. In October, BNP will try to use successive programmes to keep the government under pressure. Having been out of power for 17 years, BNP is viewing their movement as a struggle for existence. If the Awami League government manages to hold the election as they want, that will spell disaster for BNP. That is why BNP wants to exert all its strength and stay in the streets now.
BNP standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury on Saturday, speaking to Prothom Alo, said, “This October is extremely important for Bangladesh. The people now are unwilling to wait even a day longer. They have lost all patience.”
This election is also vital to Awami League, having been in power for a stretch of three consecutive terms. While the elections of 2014 and 2018 were questioned at home and abroad, Awami League completed their terms in office. But this time the election poses as a challenge to the ruling party. There is pressure from the movement of BNP and other parties and alliances, and the pressure from international quarters has been stepped up too. The party leaders feel that if they give into pressure, they will be defeated and face a disaster. That is why they plan to exert all pressure to hold the election on time, with support from the election commission as well as politically.
Speaking to Prothom Alo on Saturday, Awami League presidium member and agriculture minister Abdur Razzaque said, “We will handle the situation politically. The election will be held on time Awami League will be on the alert so that no one can disrupt the election and create a vacuum. We may have made some mistakes, but overall, the people support us.”
BNP’s October programmes
BNP will conclude this phase of its movement on 5 October with a road march from Cumilla to the Chattogram region. The party will announce its fresh programmes the same day from that road march. However, details of the programme have not been fixed as yet. The programmes for a simultaneous movement are to be fixed after discussions shortly with the parties and alliances who are partnering in the movement.
Speaking to several leaders of BNP, it has been learnt that there have been many proposals from within the party about what programmes can be held in October. These include a long march towards Dhaka with the one-point demand for the government’s resignation, grand rallies, siege of the secretariat, blockade or match towards the prime minister’s office, and so on. While the programmes have not been finalised as yet, these will be sterner that the programmes carried out so far.
Policymaking leaders of the party say that they will observe what stance the ruling party and the law enforcement takes regarding the programmes in October. They feel that, in light of the US visa policy being initiated, the ruling party and the law enforcement will not create any major obstacle to peaceful movements and programmes. BNP wants to take advantage of this situation to create a peaceful mass uprising in Dhaka.
BNP wants to take advantage of foreign pressure
The US came up with a new visa policy on 24 May this year, with the aim of ensuring free, fair and peaceful national elections in Bangladesh. The announcement in this regard said that the US would not provide visas to those who impeded the democratic election process in Bangladesh. Around four months after that, on 22 September, the US announced that the initiation of the policy had begun. The BNP leadership wants to take advantage of this situation from the outset of October. The final stages of the anti-government movement and programmes will commence this October. Presently the programmes that are underway include rallies in Dhaka, rallies of professionals and region-based road marches. This 15-day stint of programmes starting on 19 September will end on 5 October with a road march from Cumilla via Feni ad Mirsharai up till Chattogram. The next programmes of the movement will probably be announced at the rally at the end of the road march in Chattogram.
BNP’s standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury also told Prothom Alo, “When people meet us, they have one question – how much longer? The nation has united.”
Awami League to take a hard line
Despite pressure from international quarters increasing, the ruling quarters will take a hard stance in the political arena. Several leaders at the policymaking level of Awami League have said, four months after the announcement of the US visa policy, its implementation is said to have begun. These steps by the US have put pressure on the government. The government is having to be extra alert to ensure this does not dampen the morale of the administration and law enforcement. But Awami League feels that as a result of their 15 consecutive years in power, they have firm support within the administration and other sectors. They believe this support will not wane very easily and this is a big strength for the Awami League government.
Awami League central leader A Arafat, speaking to Prothom Alo, said it is not a matter of pressure. After all, the government is headed towards a free and fair election.
But the condition of the economy has placed pressure on the government. The prices of essentials have spiraled. The media is replete with reports on irregularities in the financial section, including in the banks. The situation has evoked anger among the people. Many of the AL leaders do not deny this. Some of them feels that the economic situation has hit the government hard and the ruling party is trying to take advantage of this too.
Meanwhile, though AL leaders feel that BNP’s movement hasn’t been able to put pressure on them till now, they also say that BNP will go all out to thwart the election for the sake of their own existence. If there is no election, a constitutional crisis will emerge. That will put the government into a difficult situation. These matters are being discussed by AL’s top leaders.
Given pressure from various quarters and the reality of the situation, there is no alternative for the government other then the election. That is why they are talking about tackling BNP’s movement in October politically and with the administration. The party has already announced that up until the election schedule is announced, they will hold political programmes every day and guard the government. The party leaders are now saying, no matter what programme BNP has in October, they will come up with counter programmes on the same day and at the same time. If the opposition programmes are not peaceful, Awami League and its associate organisations will resist them.
Awami League leaders feel that they must have the election at any cost. They will take the advice of any party or quarter regarding a free and fair election under the Sheikh Hasina government. But they will maintain a hard line against any activities against the election.
https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/politics/us767ze0l6
