The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), one of the country’s major political forces, has ramped up efforts to forge unity with other political platforms in a bid to pressure the interim administration into holding the next parliamentary elections by December.
With this goal in focus, the BNP—out of power since 2006—has initiated talks with like-minded political parties that were previously aligned with it in the simultaneous movement against the former Awami League government.
As the front-runner in the upcoming elections, the BNP—which has governed the country multiple times—aims to jointly mount pressure on the interim government, formed after the ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year regime, which ended in the wake of a student-led mass uprising in August last year.
The party insists that elections be held by December, which it sees as the cut-off time, despite the interim government’s proposed timeline of holding the polls between December 2025 and June 2026.
Since taking office on 8 August, the Yunus-led interim government has established around 11 commissions to carry out sweeping reforms intended to bring qualitative changes to the political system and state structure before holding national elections.
Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has already announced that the elections will be held between December and June next year, and has reiterated this timeline on several occasions in response to demands for early elections from both domestic and international stakeholders.
BNP Standing Committee member Nazrul Islam Khan said the party has begun discussions with former allies from the anti-Awami League movement to decide their next course of action.
“Following these talks with various political parties, the BNP will formally present its views to the government,” he stated.
Party insiders suggest that allied leaders may issue more definitive statements regarding the election timeframe during the series of meetings expected to continue over the next two weeks.
As part of its outreach efforts, senior BNP leaders held a tea meeting on Sunday with the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal (Khalequzzaman), Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal (Marxist), Ganatantrik Biplobi Party, and Samajtantrik Party at a city restaurant to gather views on the proposed election schedule.
CPB’s former president Mujahidul Islam Selim, general secretary Ruhin Hossain Prince, BSD general secretary Bazlur Rashid Firoz, and central leader Razequzzaman Ratan attended the meeting.
On the same day, Nurul Haque Nur-led Gana Odhikar Parishad held separate talks with BNP leaders in Gulshan. BNP’s Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, vice-chairman Barkat Ullah Bulu, and Gana Odhikar Parishad secretary general Rashed Khan were among those present.
Emerging from the meeting, Nurul Haque Nur urged the interim government to hold elections by December and also demanded the resignation of two advisers representing students in the Yunus-led council of advisers.
“There are two advisers currently representing the students in the interim administration. If they do not step down voluntarily, we will outline specific programmes to press for their resignation,” he warned.
On the first day of discussions, the BNP also held separate meetings with leaders of the 12-party alliance and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) at the BNP Chairperson’s political office in Gulshan.
These meetings were led by BNP Standing Committee members Nazrul Islam Khan and Selima Rahman.
When asked by reporters, Khan said the meetings aimed to determine future strategies to push the demand for elections by December.
A senior leader from the 12-party alliance noted that discussions centred on maintaining pressure on the government to hold elections as early as possible, within the December 2025 to June 2026 window, as promised by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus.
Participants in the discussions included Jatiya Party (Zafar) chairman Mustafa Jamal Haider, LDP chairman Shahadat Hossain Salim, and Bangladesh Jatiya Dal chairman Syed Ehsanul Huda. A six-member delegation from the LDP, led by Redwan Ahmed, also joined the talks.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, long seen as a key backer of the interim administration, has seemingly shifted its stance, now demanding that the national election be held by February next year.
“The Chief Adviser has said elections will be held between December this year and June next year. We want to see if he keeps his word,” Jamaat Ameer Shafiqur Rahman said last week.
Responding to reporters, he added, “Our position is that the election must be held before Ramadan. If we wait until June, the monsoon and other natural disasters could create uncertainty. That’s why we want the polls before Ramadan.”
However, the National Citizen Party (NCP), formed in February by leaders of the July–August uprising, has been insisting on state reforms and the trial of those responsible for the killings during the movement before any election takes place, arguing that polls without justice and reform will bring no meaningful change.
