The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has seen an upsurge in political mobilisation in recent months, with numerous large rallies held in various divisional cities, culminating in a final mega-rally in Dhaka attended by thousands of party supporters and members of the general public. This indicates that the BNP is slowly but surely making a political comeback, especially as the ruling Awami League-led government has relaxed its chokehold on the rival party following the US sanctions against a Bangladeshi law-enforcement agency, the Rapid Action Battalion, which has been accused of extrajudicial killings and human rights abuses.
The government, using state machinery, responded to the rallies with repression, arresting two top BNP leaders, Mirza Abbas and Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and keeping them incarcerated for a month. Further, the Awami League has organised counter rallies and, on the policy front, introduced "Smart Bangladesh" – replacing the previous "Digital Bangladesh" policy – promising to implement 40 mega-projects across multiple sectors by 2041.
The arrests have not deterred the BNP and the party has continued to hold political gatherings throughout the last two months. The BNP has struck a chord with the working and lower-middle classes, who are fed up with price hikes and a lack of economic opportunities. The party also presented a 27-point proposal for structural state reforms to the people, also targeting civil society.
While Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced that the next general election will be held in January 2024, all signs indicate that the BNP will not sign up to participate under current circumstances, and instead will try to mount a broad-based movement to unseat the ruling party. That movement will aim to install an election-time caretaker government, which the BNP sees as a precondition for a fair vote. The task before the BNP is tough but not impossible. The way the party is progressing at this moment shows that a strong anti-government movement in 2023 is possible.