Abu Jakir :
On August 5th, in the wake of a July uprising, the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fell, marking a significant setback for the Awami League.
Despite this historic political upheaval, the party remains far from inactive. Top-level party leaders are actively attempting to undermine the Dr. Yunus led interim government, according to sources within the Awami League.
Leaders and workers at various levels continue to maintain constant communication with senior party officials of Awami League. It has been reported that Sheikh Hasina, along with her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, is devising a strategy to overthrow the interim government through a counterrevolution.
As part of this plan, the Awami League is allegedly stirring conflicts among various factions within the country and inciting issue-based unrest. Sheikh Hasina is reportedly encouraging grassroots leaders to provoke further instability, utilizing the party’s supporters abroad to implement these schemes.
Sources reveal that Awami League’s grassroots leaders, hidden within the country, remain active in executing these strategies.
An Awami League central leader shared that although students, under the leadership of Dr. Muhammad Yunus, successfully toppled the Awami League and formed a new government, they are not at peace and may continue facing challenges.
Movements and protests are ongoing, with government and private sector employees taking to the streets over various demands. This, the leader claimed, is just the beginning of a larger wave of unrest.
A leader from the Awami League’s youth wing, Jubo League, stated that several members of law enforcement and government circles are still loyal to the party and maintain contact with top Awami League leaders.
Despite many of the party’s senior figures going underground after the fall of the government, protests and skirmishes are continuing in the capital and across the country. Grassroots conflicts, he warned, could eventually escalate into a civil war, posing a serious challenge for the interim government.
Sources suggest that during the upcoming Hindu Durga Puja festival in October, the Awami League may attempt to provoke communal unrest. There have already been incidents of attacks on Hindu temples across the country, with reports of a foreign national being arrested for one such attack. BNP Vice Chairman Nitai Roy Chowdhury accused the Awami League of using religious minorities as a shield and asserted that their attempts to incite communal violence would not succeed.
A former leader of the Awami League’s student wing, Chhatra League, disclosed that Sheikh Hasina is monitoring the political situation from India. She has been in regular communication with senior party leaders still inside the country, using social media to stay updated and direct their actions.
Following the fall of the government, Sheikh Hasina has been subtly working to re-enter the political scene with the help of domestic and foreign supporters. Since the uprising on August 5th, almost all Awami League leaders, including ministers, MPs, and central committee members, have gone into hiding. Though Hasina resigned as Prime Minister and fled to India, she remains in contact with a handful of loyalists still in the country, including top officials in both the public and private sectors.
Additionally, the interim government’s failure to fully dismantle the Awami League’s networks has emboldened some officials, who still believe the party could regain power. Reports suggest that, in the days following the August 5th fall, discussions of a potential counterrevolution on August 15th circulated, although these plans ultimately failed.
Further unrest has been fueled by actions such as Ansar members surrounding the Secretariat, violent attacks on students, and robberies aimed at creating instability. There have also been efforts to provoke unrest by vandalizing shrines, stirring unrest among garment workers, and organizing factory shutdowns.
Despite numerous challenges, some Awami League leaders remain loyal to Hasina and attempt to boost morale through communication on social media. A leaked audio message from Hasina to an overseas leader surfaced recently, in which she claimed to be “close to Bangladesh” and ready to return at any moment. While the message sparked controversy, it has also rallied certain grassroots leaders who continue to express opposition to the interim government.
As the political landscape remains uncertain, many Awami League leaders continue to insist that Sheikh Hasina is still the rightful Prime Minister, fueling further resistance among the party’s supporters.