After a Revolution, a Move Toward Politics as Usual in Bangladesh
Some of the students whose protests kick-started a revolution in Bangladesh last year and prompted the ouster of the country's authoritarian leader, Sheikh Hasina, are now taking a more conventional route to pursue their vision for the country: They have started a political party.
At a rally in Dhaka, the capital, on Friday, some of the former student leaders announced the creation of the National Citizens Party, which they said would pursue a 'centrist' political ideology. Although membership is open to all, the party will target students, thousands of whom joined the 2024 protests but many of whom have since returned to their normal lives.
Leading the new party will be Nahid Islam, a 27-year-old university graduate who helped lead the call for Ms. Hasina's resignation after a 15-year rule during which democratic freedoms eroded amid allegations of corruption and rigged elections.
After Ms. Hasina's ouster, Mr. Islam joined the interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which seeks to restore order in Bangladesh and pave the way for free and fair elections. The country has not set a date, but Mr. Yunus has said a vote could happen by December.
This week, Mr. Islam resigned from the government, saying that it was 'now necessary for me to stand with the students and the people to help build a new political force.'
The hope is that taking a political route will allow student voices to be heard as Bangladesh tries to build a robust democracy. An umbrella group called Students Against Discrimination, which represented most of the protesters, will continue as a nonpolitical entity. Students at a news conference held at Dhaka University on Wednesday, where they announced their new political party. Credit... Munir Uz Zaman/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Earlier discussions about a student political party had drawn criticism from a rival. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which became the country's largest political group after the effective disappearance of Ms. Hasina's Awami League, complained the new party had an unfair advantage since its leader had been part of the interim government.
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the BNP leader, said he welcomed the formation of a student party, 'but that does not mean you can stay in the government, enjoy all government benefits, and form your party at the same time.'
Two other student leaders who had joined the interim government, Mahfuj Alam and Asif Mahmud, have said they will remain in their posts and not join the National Citizens Party. Mr. Mahmud recently said that they couldn't be affiliated with any political party since they were helping oversee the democratic transition.
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