NCP, BNP head into major post-poll clash

A convoy carrying senior National Citizen Party (NCP) leaders was blocked twice by police on its way to Habiganj on Wednesday, prompting party leaders and activists to stage a sit-in on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway amid heightened tensions with the ruling BNP.

The standoff marked the first major confrontation between the student-led NCP and the BNP since the February general election—the first national vote held after the July 2024 uprising.

The NCP had announced a protest in Habiganj over attacks on its “July March” programme the previous day. Local BNP and affiliated organisations later announced a counter-programme at the same place and time.

Citing the risk of clashes, the Habiganj district administration imposed Section 144 across the municipal area on Wednesday morning.

Despite the restrictions, NCP Convener and Opposition Chief Whip Nahid Islam, Southern Region Chief Organiser Hasnat Abdullah and other senior leaders set out for Habiganj to join the programme. Central leaders Nasiruddin Patwari and Sarjis Alam were already in the district.

“We are very close to Habiganj now,” NCP Media Subcommittee member Yasir Arafat said earlier in the day, adding that the party leadership would decide its next course of action after reaching the area.

The convoy, however, was stopped before it could reach Habiganj town. At around 5:00pm, police blocked the vehicles near the Cha-Kanya sculpture in Satgaon under Sreemangal upazila of neighbouring Moulvibazar district.

The convoy included Nahid, Sarjis, Nasiruddin, Hasnat and Jatiya Nari Shakti Member Secretary Mahmuda Mitu, along with other central leaders.

NCP leaders alleged that police discouraged them from proceeding towards Habiganj, forcing the convoy to remain in front of the sculpture.

Speaking at the barricade, Sarjis accused the administration of being used to obstruct the party in the same way it had allegedly been used under the previous Awami League government.

He said the convoy had been stopped before entering the area covered by the Section 144 order.

After moving past the first barricade and crossing from Sreemangal into Habiganj, the convoy encountered a second blockade at around 5:15pm near Kamaichhara in Bahubal upazila.

Police had positioned a bus across the Dhaka-Sylhet highway to prevent the convoy from advancing.
As of 6:45pm, the NCP leaders remained stranded at the site and staged a sit-in on the highway.

Light rain fell during the standoff, but party leaders and activists remained on the road, chanting slogans and accusing police of acting as instruments of authoritarian rule.

More than 200 police and Special Security and Protection Battalion personnel were deployed in front of the bus used to block the highway.

Section 144 imposed
The Habiganj district administration said Section 144 was imposed because the NCP and local BNP and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal units had announced competing programmes at the same venue and time.

In an order signed by Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate GM Sarfraz, the administration banned gatherings of five or more people, public meetings, processions, slogan chanting, picketing and the use of loudspeakers within Habiganj municipality.

The order cited fears of clashes, damage to property and a deterioration in the law-and-order situation.
The restrictions took immediate effect and will remain in force until further notice.

Wednesday’s standoff came a day after a convoy carrying NCP leaders was attacked several times while leaving the party’s “July March” programme in Habiganj.

The NCP accused BNP and Chhatra Dal activists of carrying out the attacks.

During the unrest, several central leaders, including Sarjis and Nasiruddin, were reportedly forced to take shelter inside a Sonali Bank branch before police and other law enforcement personnel escorted them to safety later that night.

At least 20 NCP leaders and activists, including Sarjis and Habiganj district Member Secretary Mahbubur Rahman Mubin, were injured, while several vehicles in the convoy were vandalised.

Police could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday’s blockades. Officials, however, said measures had been taken to keep the law-and-order situation under control.