The main opposition BNP-led 18-party alliance is mulling over a plan to spearhead a vigorous movement to topple the polls-time government from the day of announcement of election schedule.
The alliance will thwart all moves of holding polls without its participation, said some BNP insiders.
They said usually election commission fixes polls date within 45 to 50 days from the announcement of the schedule.
Given this timeframe for holding polls the opposition alliance is planning to enforce a non-stop shutdown, blockade and other programmes to force the polls-time government to step down.
Party leaders said they would “make it difficult” for the government to carry out day-to-day functions of the state.
One top BNP leader, on condition of anonymity, said they were very much optimistic about implementing their plan effectively and hoped that they would be able to “oust the polls-time government in 15 days from the announcement of the schedule.”
Election Commissioner Mohammad Shahnewaj in a program in Chandpur district on Friday said, the EC would announce the election schedule by Monday.
The same day BNP’s acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at a protest rally said the BNP-led 18-party alliance would cripple the country from the moment the election commission announced polls schedule without settling the issue on the non-partisan government.
BNP’s major political ally Jamaat leaders threatened to set the entire country on fire if their demand were not met.
Talking to a number of senior BNP leaders it was learnt that they were not giving “any importance” to the dialogue to resolve the crisis as the government adopted the “clever strategy” to buy time in the name of talks.
“Election schedule announcement shuts the path of compromise and under such circumstances there is no alternative but to wage a vigorous movement,” Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, joint secretary general of the party, told the Dhaka Tribune on Saturday.
“That’s why we will wage tough movement after the announcement of election schedule.”
A senior leader said apart from splitting the capital into eight zones, the party was planning to launch “strong agitation” on at least 40 strategic points on the highways across the country.
Scattered movements in the district levels would not yield any positive result, he said.
A standing committee member of BNP said they would put up blockades on 40 points on the Dhaka-bound routes from every division.
On Thursday night BNP Chairperson and Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia held a meeting with the senior leaders of the party to devise its next course of action if the election commission announced the election schedule.
Sources in the party said Khaleda Zia this time would monitor programmes especially in the Dhaka city and to this end she had already talked to the Dhaka city unit leaders.
“Madam [Khaleda Zia] said the assigned leaders would coordinate the movement in the Dhaka city and she would monitor their activities,” a senior leader said seeking anonymity.
He also said the next course of action was likely to be announced by the party Chief Khaleda Zia anytime in the next week.
Fakhrul on Saturday again urged the people to take to the street to oust the “illegal government” from the office.
“We do not have any option left but to wage tough movement and that’s why young people should wake to the call of the opposition,” he said addressing a discussion at a city hotel.
“The party (Awami League) is committing suicide. They have created a black chapter for their own history. It is going to end up with very high price and in the process it will ruin the peace and stability of the country at the cost of the nation’s bright future,” observed Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury.