Both the recently released leaders have said that the movement will continue until democracy is established. It is difficult to say how convinced the party leaders and workers will be.
The peaceful movement that BNP was running till October 28 last year was widely supported by the people. Such a long period of peaceful movement is unprecedented in Bangladesh. BNP needs to examine where things went wrong. If he realized that a trap was being laid by the government by keeping his rally at the centre, then why did he step into that trap?
After October 28, there was a feeling of disappointment among many BNP leaders and workers. This was because the leadership had assured them that the elections would be stopped. He did not realize that in Bangladesh no party or alliance can sabotage the elections through any movement. One-sided or voter-less, whatever the case may be, once an election is held, it is difficult to overturn it.
One of the few mistakes of the BNP movement was not having any alternative at hand. He demanded the government’s resignation, but did not think about what he would do if the government did not resign. The second mistake was that he not only rejected the government, but also rejected the Election Commission. Another impression was created in the minds of the public that BNP trusts foreign friends more than the people. Third, they considered foreign friends to be from only one country. He ignored other friends who had become important in geopolitics. He became even more friendless by openly opposing the stance of Russia and China regarding the elections. Fourthly, BNP’s sudden call for non-cooperation not only stunned the public but also shocked the party leaders and workers as well as the alliance partners.