Few faces lead, backbench stays quiet
Six months into the 13th Parliament, the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party opposition alliance has established a visible political presence, particularly on issues such as the energy crisis, inflation and banking-sector instability.
However, much of that visibility has been concentrated among a small group of senior leaders and vocal MPs, while the wider opposition bench has remained comparatively quiet in parliamentary proceedings and constituency politics.
The alliance, which holds 90 seats, is led by Jamaat Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman as opposition leader, with the party’s Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher serving as deputy leader.
National Citizen Party (NCP) convener Nahid Islam holds the chief whip’s post.
Together with a handful of outspoken lawmakers, the three leaders have largely shaped the opposition’s public profile during the government’s first 180 days.
Beyond this group, there has been relatively little public reporting on the activities of individual opposition MPs, either in Parliament or in their constituencies.
Most of the roughly 90 lawmakers have largely remained outside the spotlight beyond routine parliamentary participation.
The opposition’s most prominent recent initiative followed Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s public challenge to opposition parties to present practical proposals for addressing the country’s prolonged gas and power crisis.
NCP leader and opposition MP Hasnat Abdullah responded directly, posting on Facebook on August 15 that he had submitted a 15-point plan covering short-, medium- and long-term measures to address the crisis.
He also criticised the government’s response, saying that although 62 ministers, state ministers, advisers and special assistants were in office, none had engaged with proposals previously put forward by citizens or opposition parties.
Jamaat pursued a parallel parliamentary initiative, writing to the president under Article 71 of the Constitution seeking a special parliamentary session on the energy crisis.
The move, however, faces a constitutional limitation, as the president can convene such a session only on the prime minister’s written advice.
This leaves the opposition’s request without a clear route to implementation.
The alliance has also sought to maintain pressure outside Parliament through divisional rallies and a programme of long marches.
Its announced schedule includes a Dhaka-Chattogram march on September 5, a march to Rangpur on September 19, a Dhaka-Khulna-Jashore-Kushtia route on October 10, a rail journey to Sylhet on October 24, and a mass rally in Dhaka on November 14.
The opposition has focused its campaign on rising prices, repeated gas and electricity price increases, alleged waste and corruption in the energy sector and instability in the banking system, including concerns over capital flight.
The rallies are also intended to strengthen the alliance’s organisational networks at the grassroots level and maintain public pressure on the government between parliamentary sessions.
The opposition has maintained regular meetings with foreign diplomats in Dhaka, using the engagements to raise concerns over Bangladesh’s political and human-rights situation.
At the same time, opposition parties have intensified their social-media activities, highlighting what they describe as shortcomings in the government’s performance during its first six months.
The alliance also secured a significant institutional role by nominating Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Chairman Col (retd) Oli Ahmed as its candidate for the presidency.
His nomination was formally submitted on August 13, with opposition leader Shafiqur Rahman acting as his proposer.
The opposition’s performance during the first six months presents a mixed picture.
The Jamaat-led alliance has succeeded in keeping several major public issues — particularly energy shortages, inflation and financial-sector accountability — on the political agenda.
Its leaders have also combined parliamentary initiatives with street programmes, diplomatic outreach and social-media campaigns.
However, the visibility of the opposition remains heavily dependent on a relatively small leadership group.
Apart from Shafiqur Rahman, Abdullah Mohammad Taher, Nahid Islam and a few active MPs such as Hasnat Abdullah, the wider opposition bench has generated limited independent public attention through substantive parliamentary interventions or constituency-level activities.
The first six months therefore suggest an opposition that has been effective in setting selected political agendas, but less successful in demonstrating broad-based parliamentary engagement across its 90-member bench.
The challenge ahead will be to translate the visibility of its top leaders into a more active and representative role for the wider opposition in Parliament and across the country.
