One-point demand: Oppositions plan for final push as soon as polls schedule
Leaders from the BNP and other like-minded parties said the Election Commission may announce the polls schedule by the end of October or November after preparing for the election, to be held in the first week of January.
The BNP, Jamaat and other opposition parties are planning to launch an all-out movement demanding the resignation of the Awami League government and the holding of the upcoming national election under a neutral caretaker government, once the election schedule is announced.
The leadership of the BNP has confirmed that they are preparing for a "short-term, full-scale" movement together with their political allies.
Sources say that the opposition parties are considering a range of political activities, including laying siege to the Election Commission, the secretariat, and the Prime Minister's Office. The movement will begin simultaneously at 10 to 15 locations in Dhaka on the same day, with leaders and activists gathering from all over the country.
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There are also plans to block four entry points to Dhaka. Local leaders and activists who are unable to travel to Dhaka at that time are also planning to besiege deputy commissioners' offices across the country.
Leaders from the BNP and other like-minded parties said the Election Commission may announce the polls schedule by the end of October or November after preparing for the election, to be held in the first week of January.
The all-out movement will start as soon as the schedule is declared, they said.
A senior BNP leader, who spoke to The Business Standard on condition of anonymity, said that the party will initially try to keep the movement peaceful and avoid any kind of conflict.
"We will try to implement the programme in a completely peaceful manner. If the government prevents us or does not allow us to implement the programme, and if an undesirable situation arises, then the government will be held responsible," he said.
"If our programmes are attacked, we will benefit from it. The Awami League and the law enforcement agencies will face more pressure at home and abroad. However, if there is an attack, we have a counter-resistance plan in place as part of our movement strategy," he added.
Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, senior joint secretary general of the BNP, said, "Our programmes continue to face attacks, and this is nothing new. Nevertheless, when the oppressed masses find themselves pushed to the brink, they have no option but to resist."
He emphasised that the day the election schedule is announced will mark the commencement of the government's farewell. The people of the nation are eagerly anticipating the opportunity to take to the streets. Elections similar to those of 2014 and 2018 will not be tolerated.
A senior Jamaat-e-Islami leader, who did not want to be named, told TBS, "The Jamaat is now fully focused on the anti-government movement. Leaders and activists have already been instructed to be mentally prepared for the final movement."
Mustafizur Rahman Iran, chairman of the Bangladesh Labor Party, said that the party is waiting for a call to launch a final movement at the right time. He said that all parties agree that there is no alternative to a movement to remove the current government.
Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, member of the BNP standing committee, said at a recent rally, "Once the election schedule is unveiled, the government will find it impossible to execute the election. This time, the people themselves will lead the fight for their voting rights."
According to sources, the BNP-Jamaat will hold meetings, seminars, and discussions on issues such as the trial of Dr Muhammad Yunus and the Rohingya issue for about two months before the announcement of the election schedule. They will work to build public opinion on these issues both domestically and internationally.
Jamaat sources say that they will not come directly under the party banner on the issue of Dr Muhammad Yunus, but will use their lawyers and professionals' wings to support him. The party's sources say that their online activists have already taken Dr Yunus's side both domestically and internationally.
