Dhaka: Leaders and workers of the Bangladesh Awami League, which was barred from contesting the recently concluded national elections in Bangladesh, are reportedly forcibly entering party offices across the country. At several places, they even broke the locks and walked inside. It began soon after the election.
The party offices were closed after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government in August 2024. So how are these offices opening? Who gave the party workers the green signal to go ahead and reclaim their spaces?
During the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, the Awami League was not allowed to carry out political activities. Many of its offices across the country were closed for months. Some were damaged or taken over.
As the elections ended and a new government led by Tarique Rahman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) took over, political activity gained momentum. In Dhaka and many other areas, party workers gathered outside offices with flags. Some cleaned dusty rooms and shouted slogans. In a few towns, this led to tension as rival activists also gathered there and arguments turned into clashes.
Many in the Awami League believe that visiting party offices does not violate the restrictions on the party. Senior leader AFM Bahauddin Nasim feels the offices themselves were never seized by the state. Party members therefore see no barrier in going there. Supporters expect normal political life to return once the present political phase passes and public activity becomes open again.
The government order mainly stopped organised political activities. Restrictions are in place on publications, campaigns, rallies, meetings and conferences. The restriction will continue to be there until the cases against party leaders are finalised in the international crimes tribunal. Supporters argue that they are not violating any condition as going to a party office is not banned.
Even during the restrictions, some activity continued from time to time. Small surprise marches took place on the streets of Dhaka and online campaigns kept going. Before the election date was announced, calls for an election boycott were given on social media.
The Panchagarh video that led to the row
Among youth supporters of the Awami League, the momentum never fully disappeared. A student wing worker, Rehan Sardar, spent months away from his home district after the political uprising of August 2024. He went into hiding and secretly travelled between safe locations and joined protest marches in the capital.
Messages circulated among grassroots networks encouraging supporters to visit party offices wherever possible. Many workers treated the message as a call to show presence.
Talks among organisers often happened through encrypted mobile apps. Senior party leaders were in touch with local leaders across districts. Messages spread informally among supporters. The idea was to keep the party active on the ground.
Awami League workers and supporters began forcing their way into party offices after a video surfaced on social media showing activists opening an office in Panchagarh in the presence of a local BNP leader. After the clip began making rounds on the internet and triggered a political storm, the BNP leader, Abu Daud Pradhan, said he did not know the building belonged to the Awami League.
Several other such videos from other areas soon surfaced on the social media. Small protest demonstrations were held outside party offices in Barguna, Thakurgaon, Satkhira, Betagi, Patuakhali and Khulna. Workers and supporters stood outside the gates and shouted slogans. In districts such as Narayanganj, Shariatpur, Noakhali, Jamalpur and Rajbari, some offices were reopened. Workers swept floors, cleaned walls and raised party chants.
The atmosphere did not stay calm everywhere. In some areas, rival political activists gathered after the doors of Awami League offices were opened. The offices were attacked again and locks returned to the gates. Tension spilled into the streets.
Tensions return to the streets
A tense situation was seen in Tarakanda in Mymensingh. Protesters linked to a student movement and members of the National Citizen Party marched to a newly opened Awami League office. Tyres were set on fire inside the compound. As smoke rose above the building, the police reached the area and brought the situation under control.
The roots of these events go back to the fall of the Hasina government. In the days that followed, many Bangladesh Awami League offices across the country were attacked. Buildings were damaged and some were set on fire. The historic Dhaka home of Bangladesh’s founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, known as Dhanmondi 32, was also demolished during the unrest.
Party leaders believe many offices fell under the control of rival groups during that period. The reopening campaign shows a belief that the political environment has begun to change again.
Small symbolic appearances in Dhaka added to that feeling. On February 14, several Awami League supporters stood outside the party’s central office and waved the national flag. A few days later, another video surfaced online showing women activists gathering outside a building in Dhanmondi once used as a political office by the party president. Flags rose into the air and slogans echoed through the street.
Political observers see several possible reasons behind the sudden reopening. They believe there may be an informal understanding between local leaders of the Awami League and the BNP. A newly elected government often tries to maintain stability in the political system. The absence of a major party can create long-term tension. Many Awami League supporters are still in the country, and some of them are in prison.
Some analysts believe the reopening of offices may be an early sign that politics is returning to normal. The elections are over and a new government is now in power. In such times, political space often becomes wider. The earlier ban kept the party out of the election, but it may not decide its future permanently.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: ZEE News
