Bangla Power Struggle

The way things are moving in Bangladesh, especially during the past few days after a closed-door meeting between the country's interim leader and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and the chiefs of the country's three armed forces on 20 May, indicate a fierce power struggle has broken out.

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Reports emanating from the country suggest a triangular contest is on to capture power with the protagonists being the army, the students' leaders forming the core group of the interim government and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by Khaleda Zia. The interim government seems to be keen on continuing beyond the previously agreed timeline of holding elections by December. The army appears to be concerned about some moves by the forces running the government to remove the army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman. On the other hand, the BNP is reportedly calculating that if the elections are held by December, it can capture power with a favourable Election Commission overseeing the polls. The current tension and chaos are a far cry from the show of unity by BNP, the students opposed to the previous government of Sheikh Hasina, fundamentalist forces and the army whose sole agenda was to drive Hasina out of power and hunt down activists and supporters of her party, the Awami League. That such unity can come under strain leading to the reported wish of Yunus to step down in just nine months after Hasina was forced to flee the country in August, 2024 and take refuge in India is, indeed, baffling.