Dhaka, Dec 12 (PTI) With less than a month to go for the general elections, Bangladesh is witnessing fast-paced political developments with the latest being the Jatiya Party chief patron on Tuesday urging Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to not form an alliance with her party’s faction.
Bangladesh is headed to general elections on January 7.
Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, has announced that it will boycott the elections while Hasina, who heads the ruling Awami League, is reported to have told her party not to discourage “rebel candidates,” who vowed to contest the polls independently.
The Dhaka Tribune newspaper on Tuesday reported that the Jatiya Party (JaPa) chief patron Raushan Ershad has requested Hasina not to form an alliance with the JaPa faction, led by GM Quader, claiming he forcibly took over the party.
Quoting former JaPa secretary general, Moshiur Rahman Ranga, who spoke with reporters after a meeting with the Prime Minister, the newspaper said, “We do not support the actions of GM Quader regarding the upcoming election. He forcibly took over the Jatiya Party, which is why Raushan Ershad has requested the prime minister not to form an alliance with the Jatiya Party.” He also claimed that the prime minister has agreed to look into the matter.
Meanwhile, multiple newspaper reports said Hasina has instructed her senior cabinet and party colleagues not to discourage “rebel candidates,” who vowed to contest the polls independently “to ensure the participatory nature of the elections.” A large number of Awami League leaders decided to contest the polls independently after failing to get party nomination for the polls for the 300-member Parliament.
“The prime minister said there is no certainty whether Jatiya Party will eventually take part in the elections,” widely circulated Prothom Alo newspaper said quoting a senior minister, who preferred to remain anonymous.
The Samokal and Daily Star in its Bangla version carried identical reports quoting several other unnamed ministers, who asked Hasina to debar the rebel candidates from the race in an unscheduled discussion following a formal cabinet meeting on Monday.
“You must contest the elections,” the prime minister told the ministers, who further quoted her as saying, “Jatiya Party appeared unpredictable ahead of the polls.” The newspapers, however, did not have any comment from Quader or any other senior leader.
However, the faction selected candidates for the polls, who also filed their nomination papers with the Election Commission, newspapers said.
Jatiya Party was once a partner of the ruling Awami League-led Grand Alliance.
Earlier on Sunday, announcing to boycott the January 7 elections amid violence, hundreds of opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) supporters protested to mark International Human Rights Day and demanded that the elections should be held under a non-partisan, caretaker government.
With political activity heating up, the Bangladesh Army on Monday said it will deploy troops to maintain law and order as the country gears up for the January 7 general elections that the opposition parties demand should be held under an interim non-partisan government.
With BNP, led by former Prime Minister Zia, boycotting the election, and no other credible opposition party against it, Hasina’s Awami League is likely to gain an upper hand and likely to form the government for the fourth consecutive term.
BNP had boycotted the 2014 election but took part in 2018 polls.
The US and other major Western countries called for dialogue between the ruling Awami League and particularly with the BNP to ensure an inclusive and credible election, which, however, saw no headway due to reluctance from both sides. PTI AR NPK AKJ NPK NPK
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