The BNP had promised to form a “national government” with the parties participating in the joint movement if it won the elections. However, although it formed a government after the February 12 parliamentary elections, that promise has been reflected only to a very limited extent. Only three leaders from three allies have been given posts in the government. This has created dissatisfaction among some allies. He says that this is basically the BNP government under the leadership of Tariq Rahman.
At that time, the government was led by the Awami League, while BNP acting president Tariq Rehman was in London. Speaking at an Independence Day event in London on 8 March 2022, he announced for the first time that parties involved in the anti-government movement would campaign together and contest elections together. He said that, whether victorious or defeated, all participating parties would be included in the national government formed by the BNP. Thereafter, BNP leaders frequently talked about a national government until the 13th national parliamentary election.
Speaking to reporters in Sylhet on January 4, just before the elections, BNP general secretary Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said, “BNP believes in the will of the people. If we win the elections, we will not form the government on our own. Rather, we will form a national government with the people who have waged a joint movement with us on the streets for a long time. However, it will not be an all-party government.”
Of the 300 seats in the national parliament, the BNP left 15 seats for leaders of parties affiliated with its United Political Movement. Of these, eight seats were allocated to five allied parties, who contested the elections under their party symbols.
Among these five parties, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh (palm symbol) was given four seats, while Ganosanhati Andolan (hut symbol), Bangladesh Biplobi Workers Party (spade symbol), Bangladesh Jatiya Party-BJP (bullock cart symbol) and Gono Odhikar Parishad (truck symbol) were given one seat each.
Only three candidates won among them. They were Zonaid Saki of Ganosanhati Movement, Andaliv Rahman Partho of BJP and Nurul Haq Noor of Gono Odhikar Parishad.
Additionally, seven leaders, including chiefs of five allies, either dissolved their parties or joined the BNP and contested the elections under the BNP’s paddy symbol. They were: Bangladesh LDP Chairman Shahadat Hossain Selim; National Democratic Movement President Bobby Hajjaj; National People’s Party Chairman Fariduzzaman Farhad; Bangladesh Jatiya Dal President Syed Ehsanul Huda; Redwan Ahmed, General Secretary of the Liberal Democratic Party; Rashid Khan, general secretary of Gono Odhikar Parishad; and Mufti Rashid bin Waqqas, senior joint secretary general of a faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam.
Of these seven, only Shahadat Hussein Selim and Bobby Hajjaj were selected.
The election results showed that BNP did not get the expected results on the seats allotted to its allies. Of the 15 seats left for the allies, only five were won. Of those five winning candidates, three were given posts in the government. Zonayed Saki was appointed Minister of State for Planning. Nurul Haq Noor was appointed to the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment. Bobby Hajjaj was appointed Minister of State for Primary and Mass Education. Shahadat Hussein Selim and Andaliv Rahman Partho were thrown out of the government.
People familiar with the matter say that both the leaders who have been excluded were involved in political movements with BNP for many years. Among them, Shahadat Hussein Selim played an active role on behalf of the BNP not only during the recent joint movement but also in reform discussions with political parties during the tenure of the interim government.
The BNP government led by Prime Minister Tariq Rahman began its term on 17 February. As of 5 June, the government had completed 109 days in office. Several leaders of the parties participating in the joint movement were asked about the BNP’s pre-poll promise of forming a “national government”.
“Spending like Coca-Cola before elections”
One of the major allies of BNP in the joint movement was Gonotantra Manch and one of the senior leaders of this alliance is Mahmudur Rahman Manna, whose party is Nagorik Oikya.
BNP did not nominate him as a candidate. This created some bitterness before the elections. However, neither party pursued the case further. It is said that Mahmudur Rahman Manna’s relationship with BNP has remained largely the same since then.
Mahmudur Rahman Manna spoke with a touch of sarcasm in an interview with Prothom Alo, referring to the BNP’s promise to form a “national government” during the movement. “There is a saying that Coca-Cola runs out before the elections, not after the elections,” he said.
Stating that the BNP has moved away from the idea of a national government after the elections, Manna said, “The BNP has not done what it promised. You can say that two people have been made ministers. But the BNP is also not claiming that it is a coalition government. I would say that what has been formed is the BNP government. It has become a common practice in our country to appoint one or two people from other parties as ministers of state.”
“How can there be a rainbow nation without a rainbow government?”.
Another senior leader of Gonotantra Manch, Bangladesh Biplobi Workers’ Party general secretary Saiful Haq received BNP’s support in Dhaka-12 constituency during the elections. He contested the election under his party’s “Spade” symbol but lost to the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami candidate by a wide margin. Since then, he has maintained a relatively low profile.
Speaking to Prothom Alo about the BNP’s promise to form a national government, Saiful Haq said, “It was the BNP leaders who were talking about a national government from 2022. None of the allies made this claim. It was the BNP that promised to create a ‘rainbow nation’ in its election manifesto.” How can there be a rainbow nation without a rainbow government? Now there is no discussion of national government. Some people may say that two allies are represented in the government. But does it have any direct expression?”
Saiful Haq argues that the BNP’s pre-election vision of a broad, inclusive “rainbow nation” would logically require an equally inclusive or coalition-style government. In his view, the presence of only a few individuals from the Allies in the government is not the kind of “national government” that was promised.
“We are confident that the Prime Minister will utilize our capabilities”
Gono Odhikar Parishad Chairman Nurul Haq Noor won the election under his own party’s election symbol. However, the party’s general secretary, Muhammad Rasheed Khan, joined the BNP and contested the elections in Jhenaidah-4 under the BNP’s “paddy heap” symbol.
Rashid Khan received 56,224 votes and stood third in his constituency. There, Abu Talib of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami won with 159,099 votes by a margin of 102,875 votes. BNP’s rebel candidate Saiful Islam Firoz came second with 77,104 votes. Rashed Khan told Prothom Alo that he met Prime Minister Tariq Rahman on June 3 and they had wide-ranging discussions on various issues. “I am confident that those of us who have joined the BNP will be put to proper use by the Prime Minister,” he said.
A large section of allied party leaders believe that winning more than two-thirds of the seats has given immense confidence to the BNP. As a result, there is little communication or relations with political allies during difficult times, which they view as potentially dangerous.
Rashid Khan says that he has still not given up hope of forming a national government. He told Prothom Alo, “I come away with the impression that the Prime Minister will gradually implement the BNP’s commitments, including the formation of a national government and a 31-point program of state-structure reforms.”
“BNP will suffer loss”
In the last national election, the BNP had allotted four seats to the religion-based political party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh. It got the highest number of seats among all the allies of BNP. However, none of the party’s candidates, including the president and general secretary, won their races. BNP did not field its candidates in those constituencies. The election results revealed that out of these four seats, one was won by Khilafat Majlis, one was won by rebel BNP candidate, one was won by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and one was won by National Citizen Party (NCP).
Jamiat president Ubaidullah Farooq lost to Khilafat Majlis’s Abul Hasan in Sylhet-5 constituency. Ubaidullah Farooq received 69,774 votes, while the winning candidate Abul Hasan received 79,355 votes. A rebel BNP candidate was also in the race in that constituency.
There was a sharp reaction among Jamiat leaders on the election results. This was reflected in the speech of party president Ubaidullah Farooq at a party event in Kanaghat, Sylhet on 4 June. At one point in his long speech, he said, “The way BNP is treating me, it will have to bear the consequences.”
Ubaidullah Farooq claimed that because of Jamiat’s role, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has been “weakened” or prevented from coming to power. Through this role, he said, he helped save the country, protected Qaumi Madrassas and created an environment for free movement and activity. Parts of his statement have already been circulated on Facebook, drawing mixed reactions in support and opposition.
Overall, there is a clear gap between the pre-poll promise of forming a “national government” and the post-poll reality. Due to this, new questions are being raised on the participation of allies, the future of coalition politics and the political strategy of BNP.
A large section of allied party leaders believe that winning more than two-thirds of the seats has given immense confidence to the BNP. As a result, there is little communication or relations with political allies during difficult times, which they view as potentially dangerous.
Despite disappointment among allies, BNP senior joint general secretary and advisor to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has given hope regarding the national government’s promise. While in China for medical treatment, he told Prothom Alo over the phone on Monday, “Certainly the BNP will fulfill its election promise with regard to the national government. There are signs of this, as the Prime Minister has already started implementing various election promises. This will also definitely be fulfilled.”