As some major Islamist parties have made the primary decision to boycott the forthcoming national election, another group of little-known Islamist parties are planning to counter the move by fielding candidates in all 300 constituencies, multiple sources have confirmed.
Islami Andolon Bangladesh (IAB), Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish, Khilafat Andolan, Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Islam and Bangladesh Nezami Islami Party have already said they will not join the polls, as they believe that a free and fair election is not possible under this government. Instead, they are demanding either a caretaker government or a polls-time all-party government to administer the election.
Against the backdrop, the ruling Awami League is trying to bring the rest of the Islamist parties to its fold.
These parties — most of them little known — have agreed to participate in the election unilaterally as they want to emerge as the “third force”.
An Islamist coalition named Liberal Islamic Alliance comprising six Islamic and like-minded political parties formed on September 1 is going to announce its possible participation in the election, slated for early January, unilaterally in every constituency, according to the sources having direct knowledge of the development.
The six Islamic parties, newly registered with the Election Commission, are Bangladesh Supreme Party led by Syed Saifuddin Ahmed Maizbhandari, Bangladesh Islami Oikya Jote led by Misbahur Rahman Chowdhury, Krishak Sramik Party led by Farhanaz Haque, Aashiqeen-e-Awlia Oikya Parishad led by Alam Noori Sureshwari, Bangladesh Janodal and National Awami Party (NAP Bhashani).
The announcement will be made from a rally on October 21 at the south gate of Baitul Mukarram national Mosque, where the Islamist allice plans to gather over 3 lakh people, said the sources.
Supreme Party Chairman Syed Saifuddin Ahmed Maizbhandari said they are making preparations to contest in all 300 constituencies.
“People are annoyed at the two major political parties. People have become hostage of the politics of these two parties. So, we are trying to come out as a third Islamic force,” he told The Daily Star.
Bangladesh Islami Oikkya Jote Chairman Misbahur Rahman Chowdhury echoed his view, and said his party too will make an announcement about joining the polls unilaterally.
Asked about the possibility of partnering with the AL, Misbahur said it would depend on the emerging political scenario.
At the moment, 44 political parties, 14 of them Islamist parties, are registered with the Election Commission, a mandatory condition for contesting in any election.
The participation of some of these Islamist parties in the election will help the ruling party to portray the polls as participatory in the absence of opposition BNP and other major Islamist parties, insiders say.
Also, their participation will likely ensure higher voter turnout, another sign of a participatory election, they add.
However,if BNP finally decides to contest the polls at the eleventh hour, these Islamist parties may join the electoral alliance led by the ruling AL, which is trying to forge a bigger electoral alliance with Islamist parties that have quite an impressive vote bank, according to the sources.
But the AL may not keep the Islamists parties under its fold directly as the partners of the 14-party alliance, also AL led. A number of partners in the alliance think that the ruling party’s move to woo Islamist parties is a deviation from the principles behind the formation of the 14-party alliance.
Democratic values and secularism were the core ideals when the 14-party alliance was formed during the BNP-Jamaat rule in 2005.
On the other hand, AL ally Bangladesh Tariqat Federation, led by Syed Nazibul Bashar Maizbhandari, is frustrated with the AL’s soft stance on Bangladesh Supreme Party. Tariqat Federation thinks that some Chattogram-based top AL leaders are patronising Supreme Party, also based in Chattogram, for establishing dominance in local politics.
Sources say if the AL forged an electoral alliance with Supreme Party, Tariqat Federation may even boycott the election or contest unilaterally.
Contacted, 14-party Coordinator Amir Hossain Amu said Islamist parties that have already expressed their willingness to join the 14-party combine can form a separate alliance and it might be included in the AL-led grand alliance.
He, however, said no Islamist party will be included in the 14-party alliance.
Meanwhile, some Islamist parties and Hefajat-e Islam, the Qawmi madrasa-based non-political organisation, are planning to put pressure on the government to realise their demands, including withdrawing the cases against its leaders and release of its top leaders before the election.
Islami Andolon Bangladesh already announced a two-day programme for October 7 and 15 and will accelerate its movement to realise its demand to form an election-time all-party government and hold election under that administration. Hefajat-e Islam “will do whatever it takes” to realise its demand.
“We will continue our all-out movement to realise our demand to have our top leaders released and the cases against them withdrawn,” Azizul Hoque Islamabadi, joint secretary of Hefajat, told The Daily Star.