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The unity among political parties is now falling apart despite discussions about the importance of unity among the forces behind the student-led mass uprising to uphold its spirit.

Although the forces of the uprising promised a national unity after the ouster of the Awami League regime, a three-way divide between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami  and the Students Against Discrimination is becoming increasingly apparent. 

At the same time a distance between the interim government and the Students Against Discrimination has been created on various issues, including July uprising proclamation.

Following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina regime on August 5, the first signs of disagreement emerged among the political parties as they competed to claim the credit for the uprising and sought to establish political supremacy in the absence of the Awami League on the ground.

Differences among the parties highly surfaced on the issues of the removal of the president, annulment of the constitution, ban on the Awami League, reforms and election deadline.

Tensions also surfaced between the Students Against Discrimination and the BNP-backed student body Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal on campuses across the country.

BNP leaders repeatedly alleged that efforts were under way to form a new political party led by students, alongside conspiracies to keep the BNP out of state power.

The Students Against Discrimination acknowledged that it was in a conflict with the Chhatra Dal over the elections of central students’ unions.

Organisation leaders admitted that these differences needed to be resolved to avoid undermining the spirit of the uprising.

The rift between the BNP and the Jamaat has recently deepened, with their leaders exchanging sharp criticisms of each other over political changes, elections and reforms.

BNP leaders acknowledged that their party had differences with the Jamaat on several issues but they wanted no hostility with the Jamaat.

Jamaat leaders also said that they were working to bridge the gap with the BNP, as their top priority was unity.

Given the current circumstances, BNP leaders believed that political parties should prioritise unity.

In August 2024, political parties and student leaders assured the government of a reasonable timeframe for completing reforms.

Later, the BNP expressed its desire for quick elections following minimal necessary reforms, while the Jamaat and student leaders prioritised comprehensive reforms before elections.

Amid the competition over the credit for the uprising, Jamaat leaders accused the BNP of grabbing and extortion across the country and repeatedly said that while one extortionist fled, no one wished to see another to take the place.

In response to the comment, the BNP labeled the Jamaat as the successor of ‘bank looter’ S Alam.

Recently, Jamaat amir Shafiqur Rahman claimed his party to be the only tested patriotic political force.

He told an event in Rangpur on December 23, ‘There are only two tested patriotic forces in the country — the army and the Jamaat-e-Islami.’

This statement faced widespread criticism from most political parties, including the BNP, who questioned Jamaat’s role during the War of Independence.

BNP standing committee member Hafizuddin Ahmed on Monday told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· that they did not want hostility with any party, emphasising that it was a crucial time to remain united for the sake of the country and its people.

‘We want to consider Jamaat a friend, but we have differences with them on certain issues, and the party has already clarified its stance on these matters,’ he said.

Earlier in a discussion on January 9, Hafizuddin said that the uprising brought an opportunity for the Jamaat to apologise to the people for its role in 1971.

Instead of doing that, Jamaat is trying to justify their 1971 role, he alleged.

BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi termed the a hypocritical party.

Jamaat assistant secretary general Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair said that they were working to end the tug of war, as both the BNP and the Jamaat shared the same goal of establishing the rights of the people.

‘We will work together to demand national elections within a short time, following necessary reforms,’ he said.

The differences between the student leadership and the BNP also became evident over the removal of president Md Shahabuddin.

In October, the Students Against Discrimination and the National Citizens Committee issued an ultimatum for the removal of the president. Most of the other parties supported the demand conditionally, but the BNP opposed it citing a constitutional crisis.

Later, the student leaders called for scrapping the constitution and issuing the proclamation of the uprising.

Although the proclamation was planned to be announced at the Central Shaheed Minar on December 31, the BNP opposed the programme.

The student leaders then renamed their programme as March for Unity instead of the July proclamation, following the government’s announcement on January 30 that it would prepare a proclamation of the uprising based on a national consensus.

At the programmee at the Shaheed Minar, student leaders demanded uprising proclamation by January 15 and no elections before completing reforms.

The day after the student leaders’ demand, acting BNP chairman Tarique Rahman dubbed the debate over whether reforms or elections should take precedence as a fallacious argument.

He said that both reforms and elections were essential for bringing about qualitative changes to the state and its politics.

At the same time, BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas in a discussion said that the party felt pain when some people spoke about burying a constitution that was ‘written with the blood of martyrs’.

BNP standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy said that many anti-people articles were included in the constitution during the autocratic regime and those should be removed through an amendment.

He, however, said that the scrapping of the constitution would not be accepted, as it would mean rejecting the birth of Bangladesh.

Student Against Discrimination spokesperson Umama Fatema on Monday told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· that while there might be differences between various organisations on certain issues, it was crucial to remain united on some common concerns.

‘Political parties are starting to consider us as their rivals, as if we are a political party. This mindset is creating misunderstandings,’ she said.

Umama said that some differences had arisen between the Students Against Discrimination and the Chhatra Dal over elections to central students’ union at universities.

She said that Chhatra Dal leaders should realise that the continuation of longstanding traditional student politics would no longer be accepted by students and that they must adopt a new political approach to ensure the betterment of the country and its people.

Apart from the BNP and the Chhatra Dal, the growing distance between the Students Against Discrimination and the interim government was becoming increasingly apparent.

Student leaders recently expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of progress in the government’s initiative to announce the proclamation of the uprising.

They also voiced their anger over the government’s reported negligence in the treatment of those injured during the July-August movement and providing compensation to the victim families.

Umama, however, said that it was not a matter of differences, but as a part of democratic practice, the Students Against Discrimination raised its voice on various issues.

‘Not all the decisions of the interim government are people-friendly, and we must consider whether the Students Against Discrimination is truly representing the people,’ she said.

During the July-August movement, the BNP and the Jamaat supported the people and students but kept their involvement hidden.

After Sheikh Hasina’s ouster, both the BNP and the Jamaat claimed credit for the uprising, with BNP asserting that their leaders and activists made the greatest sacrifices.

The Jamaat-backed student body Islami Chhatra Shibir, however, claimed that the uprising aligned with their plan.

While the Students Against Discrimination regards the Shibir as a fellow fighter, it is involved in conflict with the Chhatra Dal on different campuses.