BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir once expressed hope that the Awami League would lead the way for the future through discussions with opposition political parties.
He shared this perspective in a live interview with the private television channel NTV on the night of February 18, 2018.
Although Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina held dialogues with political parties at the Ganabhaban before the 2018 election, the BNP has consistently alleged that these talks were not reflected in the election. Consequently, Mirza Fakhrul’s optimism turned into allegations in the subsequent years.
Mirza Fakhrul has often described the Awami League as a "major problem for the nation," claimed "Bangladesh is now in the grip of racists," and labeled the Awami League as an "anti-liberation force." Not only the BNP, but many leaders of various opposition parties have made similar accusations against the Awami League.
They argued that while the Awami League led the country's independence movement, the Bangla Language Movement, the Six-Point Movement, and the mass uprising of 1969, it has abandoned its old traditions in the matter of voting rights.
Since its founding on June 23, 1949, the Awami League (then East Pakistan Awami League) adhered to democratic principles even in the face of numerous obstacles before the liberation struggle.
The BNP termed the 2018 general election as "the election of the night" and the 2024 general election as “dummy votes”. The BNP, which participated in the 11th election, boycotted the 12th parliament election. The boycott continued in the recently held Upazila Parishad election. Similarly, the BNP, along with most political parties, did not participate in the 2014 election.
Most of the opposition parties support the BNP’s political decisions. Although the ruling party-led 14-party coalition and some newly registered parties participated in the elections, the Awami League also withdrew from local government elections as a party.
Only a few parties in the 14-party coalition contested under party symbols, while Awami League candidates ran as independents.
Opposition political leaders broadly want to view the 75-year span of the Awami League from two perspectives: one before December 16, 1971, and the other after that.
However, leaders of parties that support the Awami League emphasize the country's development, trials of war criminals from the 1971 Liberation War, and various successes achieved after the Awami League assumed power for the third time in 2009.
Monirul Haque Chowdhury, a member of the BNP Chairperson's Advisory Council and a former central president of the Chhatra League, said: "Although the Awami League is an old party, there are no expectations from it."
He believes there is a significant difference between the Awami League before and after independence. The party's greatest achievement is the independence movement, but he feels it has abandoned all the gains of that movement and the liberation war.
Several top leaders from the Chhatra League have joined the BNP, including the late KM Obaidur Rahman (Chhatra League president), Shah Moazzem Hossain (Chhatra League president), Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain (Chhatra League president of Mohsin Hall, Dhaka University), Advocate Fazlur Rahman (Chhatra League president), the late Fazlur Rahman Patal (top Chhatra League leader), and Habibur Rahman Habib (Chhatra League president).
BNP leader Monirul Haque Chowdhury said: "The current Awami League does not follow what Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who became Bangabandhu by fighting for the rights of the people, used to follow. Personally, I believe the Awami League has not met people's expectations. The Liberation War happened, but the question of the people's economic, social, and political liberation has not been addressed."
He said: "The Awami League is no longer in that position. I do not believe they are running the country. There is no reason to expect anything from them."
Hope to return politics to the political realm
The CPB, another old political party like the Awami League, shares similar views. Ruhin Hossain Prince, the current general secretary of the 76-year-old CPB, thinks that the 75th anniversary of the Awami League is undoubtedly a significant event that should be evaluated positively.
He said: "We want to see how the party that played a leading role in the country's independence, democracy, the Liberation War, and anti-dictatorship movements, is now accused of authoritarianism and handing politics over to those who manipulate it. The people are waiting to see how the Awami League assesses itself and what politics it will pursue."
Referring to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Ruhin Hossain mentioned that despite being a nationalist leader, Bangabandhu played a role in favor of the people.
However, Ruhin Hossain questions whether the Awami League has truly realized this in its current politics, despite its claims.
"We want to see the Awami League revisit this," Ruhin Hossain added. He said: "We want to see the Awami League bring back democracy as a ruling party and as a historical party. Despite talking about secularism, we see compromising with Hefazat. Balancing in a way that harms national interests is evident. The people are waiting to see how they evaluate themselves and whether they will operate as a democratic party."
In recent years, the participation of non-politicians in the country's politics has been a topic of discussion.
A report from Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) at the end of last year indicated that 57.34% of candidates in the 12th national elections were businessmen. Respectively, 9.17% and 7.81% of candidates listed law and agriculture as their professions. 5.16% were employed, 4.95% were teachers, and only 2.86% listed politics as their profession.
However, within political circles, there is talk that politicians' shift towards business has encouraged businessmen to get closer to politics. Additionally, the immense election expenditure has also drawn businessmen to politics.
In conclusion, Ruhin Hossain Prince said: "I want to say that the Awami League will liberate itself from the hands of authoritarianism and corrupt politics to initiate a democratic trend."
Higher expectations from Awami League
On June 23, 1949, under the leadership of Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani, the East Pakistan Awami Muslim League was established with the unanimous acceptance of a 40-member organizational committee.
Citing information from the book "Awami League 1949-1971" by Shyamoli Ghosh, a teacher at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, Jebel Rahman Ghani, chairman of the Bangladesh National Awami Party-Bangladesh NAP, said: "The expectation with which Maulana Bhasani founded the Awami League—has the Awami League been able to uphold that expectation even after being in power for the sixth time? I want to pose this question to them."
He added: "Despite its 75-year journey, which is rare for a political party, and overcoming many adversities to come to state power, the people expected the Awami League to strengthen democratic institutions and uphold the spirit of independence. Their expectation was high from the Awami League."
Jebel Rahman Ghani believes that today's Awami League does not have Maulana Bhasani's political agenda. He claimed, "The people are no longer with them, and that is the difference between the old Awami League and the current Awami League."
Will the Awami League show the way forward?
Saiful Haque, the general secretary of the Revolutionary Workers Party, claimed that the world of the Awami League has become smaller at 75. According to him: "By running the country with the power of the administration, the roots of the Awami League's power among the people have weakened."
Saiful Haque said: "At 75 years old, the Awami League has completely abandoned its liberal democratic character. The party that once represented the emerging wealthy class and common people has now become a mafia, business-dominated party. In this sense, it has undergone a political death as a political party."
When asked about the feasibility of addressing the issue of voting rights without the Awami League, Saiful Haque, a leader of the Democracy Platform, responded: "The Awami League is an important party in the question of voting rights. Therefore, as a party, it is in deep political and election-centric crisis. However, they remain an important party."