Awami League strengthens ties with Jatiya Party as Hasina sits with Ershad

The Awami League has ramped up its ties with the Jatiya Party on a day when the Jatiya Oikya Front has been reinforced by the joining of Abdul Kader Siddique.

The leaders of both the ruling party and the opposition in parliament struck the same note after a dialogue at the Ganabhaban on Monday ahead of the 11th parliamentary elections.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina thanked the Jatiya Party for its cooperation in Bangladesh’s development while Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad did not raise any demands unlike the other political groups.

Amid differences of opinion on many issues, the Awami League chief recently responded to Dr Kamal Hossain-led Jatiya Oikya Front’s call for talks.

The Oikya Front demanded release of jailed BNP chief Khaleda Zia and dissolution of parliament before the elections with a nonpartisan government in power during the dialogue on Nov 1.

They are sitting again on Wednesday in the second round of talks as the Oikya Front found ‘no specific solution’ to the issues it raised in the first round.

Two days before the planned talks with Hasina, Ershad had said they would push for more seats in parliament, but the leaders of both sides said on Monday evening that they had not discussed the issue.

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader hinted at reaching a consensus with the Jatiya Party over contesting in the next general elections.

Jatiya Party fought in the ninth general elections in alliance with the Awami League. It became the main opposition party in parliament after the BNP boycotted the election in 2014.

Should the BNP join the polls this time, the Awami League and the Jatiya Party will form an electoral alliance like they did in the 2008 elections, after which they formed a coalition government, Quader hinted.

But if the BNP stays away from the ballot again, the Awami League and the Jatiya Party will contest separately like they did in 2014.

“The calculations in the coalition will hinge on the polarisation in politics,” the Awami League general secretary told the media after the talks.

“We’ve agreed to contest as part of a grand alliance if all the parties join the elections. If not, we may contest in all 300 seats,” Ershad’s brother and Jatiya Party Co-Chairman GM Quader said. 

He said they have also agreed that the next general elections should be held in line with the constitution, which means with Hasina staying on as prime minister.

Awami League leader Quader said they would sit with the Jatiya Party on a limited scale to discuss the share of seats later. Jatiya Party’s Quader echoed him.

Ershad placed eight proposals, but no demands, for fair polls during the talks, according to Jatiya Party Secretary General ABM Ruhul Amin Howlader.

The proposals include deployment of the army during the polls, but not with magistracy powers as demanded by the OIkya Front.

Ershad proposed limited use of electronic voting machines or EVMs this time, arguing that the people should be given time to get used to the machines.

He also proposed formation of an election-time government only with the parties having representation in parliament.

He told Hasina that they should not wait for any party to join the elections, Howlader said.

The prime minister told Ershad that she will seriously consider his proposals, the Jatiya Party secretary general added.