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Major Bangladesh parties face split

Haroon Habib

DHAKA: Sharp differences among senior leaders of major political parties in Bangladesh have become so acute vis a vis the military-backed Government’s plans for “political reforms” that they have triggered fears of imminent splits, jolting the leaderships of even former Prime Ministers Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina.

The determined bid of the Government to enforce “political reforms” has caused sharp divisions in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the Awami League (AL) and the Jatiya Party (JP). “Reformists” in those parties are openly calling for implementing the reform proposals, and the outcome may make it impossible for the Awami League leader, Ms Hasina, BNP president Khaleda Zia, and Jatiya Party head H.M. Ershad, to continue in politics. There are striking similarities in the proposals made public by reformists of the two major parties. They have accused their party chiefs of being “despotic”, alleging that the volatile political situation was mainly due to the two women’s “autocratic” leaderships and corruption.

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