Supporters of Awami League have begun reopening party offices in districts across the country, marking a cautious re-emergence months after widespread violence and a ban on the party’s political activities.
The reopening follows the 13th parliamentary election held on 12 February, in which the BNP secured a two-thirds majority while the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance was defeated.
Since then, party activists who had gone into hiding have started returning to their local areas, according to party sources and local observers.
However, senior leaders at the central, district and upazila levels have largely remained absent, amid fears of arrest.
Several leaders who previously returned were detained by police.
Party offices have now been reopened in at least 26 districts, though many of the buildings remain badly damaged after earlier attacks.
Symbolic return sparks wider reopening
On 17 February, shortly after the new government was formed, a small group of workers raised the national flag outside the party’s central office on Bangabandhu Avenue in Gulistan, Dhaka.
Images and videos of the moment circulated widely on social media, prompting activists elsewhere in the country to reopen local offices.
In many cases, supporters raised both the national flag and party flags, while portraits of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and party president Sheikh Hasina were reinstalled inside offices.
Several reopened offices showed signs of extensive damage, having previously been set on fire or vandalised.
The reopening of offices has triggered mixed reactions.
In some areas, police have intervened, citing the ongoing ban on party activities.
Police spokesperson AHM Shahadat Hossain said law enforcement agencies would take action against individuals facing criminal charges.
“Legally, those accused in cases will face police action,” he said.
In Noakhali, police arrested five people shortly after activists reopened a party office at Town Hall intersection. In Khulna, unidentified attackers set fire to a reopened metropolitan office later the same night.
Offices have also been reopened in Narayanganj, Shariatpur, Chattogram, Kurigram, Barguna, Rajbari, Habiganj, Dinajpur, Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Narail, Sunamganj, Patuakhali, Faridpur, Bogura, Jashore, Barishal, Cumilla, Mymensingh, Naogaon and Tangail, among other areas.
In some places, reopening ceremonies were met with hostility. In Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area, police dispersed a small gathering near House 32 led by university professor AKM Jamal Uddin.
Several Awami League activists were reportedly injured in attacks, while others were detained.
Awami League Joint General Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim said party supporters were encouraged to return.
“Our leader has instructed us that we must return even to our burned homes,” he said.
Meanwhile, BNP leader and former MP Nilofar Chowdhury Moni said she saw nothing wrong with party offices reopening.
“I do not see anything negative in reopening Awami League offices,” she said.
However, activists from Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP) have expressed unease over the development, with some informing police about gatherings.
Awami League offices across the country had been attacked, vandalised and burned following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina’s government on 5 August 2024 and in the months that followed. Many activists were targeted in mob violence, forcing others into hiding or exile.
Since taking office, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said his government is committed to ending mob violence.
His statement appears to have reassured some Awami League supporters, encouraging them to cautiously return.
While senior leaders abroad have yet to return, many local activists are gradually reconnecting with communities — sometimes through contact with local BNP figures.
But with police enforcing legal restrictions and sporadic attacks continuing, the party’s return remains uncertain, reflecting the fragile and evolving political landscape in the country.
