BNP moves to calm restless allies ahead of local polls

Five months after forming the government, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is making its first formal attempt to address mounting frustration among the smaller parties that stood with it during the movement against the ousted Awami League government.

BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will host senior leaders of allied parties for a dinner at the State Guest House Jamuna on Monday evening, July 20 — his first meeting with the top leaders of the parties that joined the BNP-led simultaneous anti-government movement since the government was formed, according to party sources.

BNP Standing Committee members Nazrul Islam Khan and Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury have been assigned to coordinate with the alliance partners and extend invitations, party officials said.

The gathering comes as resentment simmers within BNP’s coalition. Allied leaders say they were not adequately rewarded with parliamentary seats or cabinet representation after helping topple the Awami League government and then campaigning alongside BNP in the national election.

That frustration has deepened ahead of local government elections, which have added new urgency to disputes over seat-sharing and political recognition within both major camps — BNP’s coalition and the rival alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami.

Seats promised, seats delivered
Of roughly 50 parties that joined BNP’s “simultaneous movement” against the former Awami League government, only a fraction saw their support translate into political power.

During the 13th parliamentary election, BNP ceded about ten seats to its allies — eight to registered partner parties, while two unregistered parties contested under BNP’s sheaf-of-paddy symbol.

Three- Gono Shonghoti Andolon, Gono Odhikar Parishad and National Democratic Movement (NDM) leaders who joined BNP’s ticket won and are now part of the government.

But numerous other allies — including the 12-Party Alliance, Hefazat-e-Islam and Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Bangladesh — received no such accommodation, leaving a large segment of allied Islamist political actors aggrieved.

Two veteran opposition figures voice particularly sharp grievances. Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) President A S M Abdur Rob and Nagorik Oikya President Mahmudur Rahman Manna were not given seats to contest, and both lost when they ran independently.

JSD Senior Vice-President Tania Rob said the party had received an invitation to Monday’s dinner but would not attend, having written to explain its reasons — though she added JSD would answer any call for unity “at a time of national crisis.”

Another JSD leader complained that no one from the BNP leadership had checked on the ailing, long-serving Rob in the five months since the government took office.

What allies want
Leaders of parties expected to attend say they hope the dinner will yield candid discussion of allies’ role in governance, representation in state institutions, and coordination ahead of local elections.

Saiful Huq, general secretary of the Bangladesher Biplobi Workers Party and a Gonotontro Mancha leader, confirmed he had received a formal invitation and planned to attend.

Sheikh Rafiqul Islam Bablu of the Gonotontro Mancha said each participating party had been asked to submit a list of five representatives, and that allies intended to press BNP on what the government could do for them — and what they could offer the government in return.

Dr. Fariduzzaman Farhad, chairman of the National People’s Party (NPP) and a leader of the Jatiyatabadi Samahonmona alliance, argued that placing one or two allied figures in the cabinet does not amount to the “national government” BNP had promised to build with all its movement partners.

Gono Forum’s acting president, Subrata Chowdhury, made a similar point, saying he intends to remind BNP leaders of their earlier pledge to govern jointly with the parties that fought alongside them.

Gono Odhikar Parishad, which describes itself as larger than other allies with organizational committees nationwide, said it would present specific written proposals on job placements and postings for its grassroots leaders.

Gono Songhoti Andolon’s coordinator, Abul Hasan Rubel, said discussions would focus on how allies can work more closely with the government at the upazila and district levels ahead of local elections.

BNP’s response
BNP Standing Committee and Liaison Committee member Nazrul Islam Khan pushed back on suggestions that the party has neglected its allies, saying BNP meets with them regularly and that, with so many partner parties, discussions inevitably take time. He said talks with the “simultaneous movement” allies were ongoing.

Before the 13th parliamentary election, the BNP-led simultaneous movement had brought together 42 registered and unregistered political parties across four alliances, of which BNP allocated 16 parliamentary seats to 11 partners.

According to sources familiar with the preparations, Monday’s invitations are expected to be limited largely to leaders of allied parties that currently have no representation in parliament, with the discussion intended to focus on the political assessment and future role of allies who failed to win seats.