THIS is deplorable that the mainstream political culture continues to remain violent at a time when democratic reforms are considered a national priority after the fall of the authoritarian Awami League regime in August 2024. In January鈥揗arch, as the organisation Ain O Salish Kendra says, at least 36 people died and 642 became injured in violence over fight for political supremacy, illegal occupation of businesses and other property belonging to the people of the overthrown Awami League or over party positions. Of the death in political violence reported this year, more than 72 per cent involved infighting of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its front organisations. Since August 2024, most local offices of the Awami League and its organisations have either been burnt or taken over by students and youth wings of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. In September 2024, people inclined to the Nationalist Party took control of the Shimulia ferry terminal, the fish market and trawler docks at Lauhajang in Munshiganj, allegedly by threatening and assaulting the rightful leaseholders.
Instead of constructive campaigns to mobilise support for the party, the continued use of violence in the changed political context has created grounds to question the BNP鈥檚 commitment to democratic reforms in parliamentary politics. BNP leaders have, however, assured that they are taking disciplinary action against the party leaders and activists involved in violence, extortion or other illegal activities. Yet they somewhat justify the violence when they say that internal conflict is common in any large political party, especially when there has been no legitimate election for more than a decade. While political analysts support the claims of BNP leaders that the absence of a democratically elected government and the persecution of political opposition under the Awami League regime have contributed to the violence, they say that similar undemocratic and extortionist activities were also reported during the earlier tenure of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. 聽The use of student and youth demography to exert control has been part of mainstream politics. The political analysts, therefore, rightly demand a radical shift from the past ideologically and financially corrupt practices that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and other political parties have fiercely critical of during the Awami League鈥檚 tenure.
The fall of the authoritarian Awami League regime is the result of protests of the Students against Discrimination and people鈥檚 growing dissatisfaction about the ideologically and financially corrupt mainstream political culture marked with violence, extortion and illegal encroachment. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party and any other political parties should, therefore, keep off the notorious legacy of illegal occupation, extortion and coercive politics. The government should take early steps to attend to such a menace.