¶¶Òõ¾«Æ·

CAN there be democracy without politics, and should politics breathe outside a democratic environment? It depends on how we define politics, many will likely say. The current political situation in Bangladesh may provide some insights.

That situation is increasingly being marked by difference, divergence and distrust. Muhammad Yunus’s interim government is keen on bringing essential reforms before letting it go to conventional politics. However, BNP as a major contender of power is less receptive to this process. It seems more inclined to old politics and is desirous to go to power as soon as possible. BNP leaders have been mounting pressure on the interim government for early elections. They have complained about the absence of the election roadmap now and then. They have unticked many of the essential political reforms proposed and are constructing new discourses about elections and democracy. For example, the party acting chair was quoted by ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· on May 2, 2025 as saying: ‘It is a normal democratic practice for a political party to demand elections, but in recent days, there has been a deliberate attempt to create an atmosphere in the country in which just demanding elections is being treated as a crime.’

Sure, BNP has every right to demand elections — even at their convenient time. Its burning desire to go to power is also legitimate. The nation also needs to re-activate the democratic channel for power transfer. This is crucial because Hasina’s autocratic rule messed the election mechanism and all other systems and processes in the country.

However, does BNP have the moral authority to drive through to elections bypassing reforms?

Political parties may not be the best of students. They may be less willing to reflect and take lessons from history and other subjects. BNP’s disregard for recent history may not be ignored. Had the Hasina autocracy continued, BNP leaders would have been political refugees in their own country. Any dream of going to power through elections would then have been nothing short of building castles in the air. BNP seems oblivious of this truth.

Morality may not be resounding in politics but what is BNP’s political capital? Democracy is considered the central basis of this capital. Political parties represent people. They seek to govern in their name and interest. They are considered exemplary democratic institutions. Only such institutions can talk about democratic norms, values and practices.

The BNP demand for undelayed elections is predicated on such democratic ideals. However, some of the questions that it hasn’t asked itself are: Is there full democracy in its party-political process? How will BNP present itself as different from the fallen Awami League? How is it going to reincarnate itself from its own previous organisational self? Whether BNP likes it or not, there is a wider social perception that once in power it will do what Awami League did for over fifteen years. This may or may not be entirely true, but it is BNP’s duty to eradicate such perceptions.Ìý

The BNP demand for hastening elections may be democratically motivated in another way as well. The interim government is not directly elected by people. So, BNP may not consider this government democratic in a true sense. They may view it as a mere ‘relief government’ which took over at a critical juncture. BNP leaders may also posit that the shorter the duration of an unelected government, the better it is for democracy and the nation.

However, such perspectives will be challenged under the prevailing circumstances. Although the Yunus government was not voted by people, he didn’t walk to power by coercion, conspiracy or coup. He was invited to rule by leaders of the student movement who stood for the people when the Awami government fell. The interim government may not have fixed problems in all sectors. However, what it has achieved in eight months has made it hugely popular. In fact, there is a widespread demand that this government should continue for five years to fix politics and institutions in the country.

This popular endorsement of the interim government may indicate a paradigm shift in our understanding of democracy and politics. People seem to be withdrawing their support from conventional politics. At the same time, they are willing to throw themselves behind a government which did not come to power through the formal political process. This is a shift from the traditional notion of government to the contemporary demand for governance.Ìý

The seismic shift is the result of people’s experience with conventional politics in Bangladesh. For them, it may be immaterial whether we talk about a BNP government or an Awami one. The problem lies in governance itself which has failed to deliver people’s hopes and aspirations in the past decades.

Interestingly, these developments in the political landscape in Bangladesh may be explained by ‘uberisation’ in politics. Political parties dominated the political field exclusively, very much like the taxi service in a city. When ride sharing as an alternative was introduced some years ago, taxi drivers and other stakeholders stood against the newcomer. They considered themselves more legitimate for serving customers and ensuring their security. They decried that ride sharing would compromise this security. However, uber has now become normalised everywhere. This is because it delivers customer service at a lower cost. People are more interested in the quality of service including its affordability and efficiency regardless of the service provider — taxi or uber.

When Muhammad Yunus wished to enter politics about two decades ago, the stalwarts of conventional politics did not let him do so. He did not have political legitimacy at that time, like uber. Mainstream politics succeeded in keeping him out of the political game.

However, things changed as the people went through Hasina’s autocratic regime. No one could predict how her monarchical brand of democracy might end. It ultimately ended in a way which was unplanned and unpredicted. Her humiliating exit opened the door for Muhammad Yunus to enter the political arena with honour. With his team, he has worked relentlessly to deliver governance to people. Many are convinced that his is the kind of government that is needed at this critical moment of Bangladesh.

The interim government is a lesson for conventional politics. It can’t take people’s mandate for granted. Many parties seem to have lost their conventional political capital in a changing world and demos. They need to reinvent themselves and find new ways of legitimacy and appeal.

It will be better for BNP not to appeal to the old political legitimacy but to find new ways of being in sync with the new demos. BNP may be good at old politics, but it does not necessarily own the people or democracy.

Ìý

Obaidul Hamid is an associate professor at the University of Queensland in Australia. He researches language, education and society in the developing world. He is a co-editor of Current Issues in Language Planning.