Dr Kamal, Badruddoza Chy to lead new alliance ahead of Bangladesh general election

The Jukto Front alliance has decided to work together with the Gono Forum under the joint leadership of AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury and Dr Kamal Hossain.

Jukto Front chief Badruddoza briefed the media about the decision after an around two-hour meeting at the senior lawyer’s home on Bailey Road in Dhaka on Tuesday.

Gono Forum President Dr Kamal was also present at the briefing.

Badruddoza’s Bikalpadhara Bangladesh, ASM Badur Rab’s Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-JSD and Mahmudur Rahman Manna’s Nagorik Oikya are trying to launch a third bloc before the next general election to counterbalance the two coalitions headed by the ruling Awami League and its rival the BNP.

After forming the Jukto Front in December last year, the alliance was trying to get former Awami League leader Abdul Kader Siddique’s Krishak, Sramik, Janata League in the alliance.

They recently launched the bid to include senior lawyer Dr Kamal’s Gono Forum in the fold with the parliamentary elections in sight.  

After Dr Kamal met the Jukto Front leaders at Bikalpadhara General Secretary Mannan’s home at Gulshan on Aug 20, the Front said Gono Forum was joining the alliance.

The Jukto Front leaders went to Dr Kamal’s home after media reports stated that the senior lawyer was not interested in joining the alliance.

“We’ve decided in the meeting to work together in this time of crisis of the nation under the leadership of Juko Front Chairman former president Prof Badruddoza Chowdhury and Gono Forum President and the creator of Bangladesh’s constitution Dr Kamal Hossain,” Badruddoza told the media.

They will form a sub-committee to decide on the next course of action and the media would be informed about the move shortly, he added.

Asked who the members of the sub-committee would be, Dr Kamal said they would let the media know about it later.

On being asked, Badruddoza said they did not discuss ‘at this stage’ the BNP’s proposal to form a ‘national unity’.

“We discussed only our issues today,” he said.  

Badruddoza entered Dr Kamal’s home at 7:50pm. Dr Kamal saw Badruddoza off to the former president’s car in front of the house at 9:50pm.

Besides Badruddoza, Rab, his wife Tania Rab, JSD General Secretary Abdul Malek Ratan, Manna, Bikalpadhara General Secretary Abdul Mannan, Joint General Secrtary Mahi B Chowdhury, Vice-President Shah Ahmed Badal, and Jatiya Oikya Prokria Member Secretary ABM Mostafa Amin went to the house.

Pro-BNP professionals’ leader Gonoshasthaya Kendra Zafrullah Chowdhury, former DUCSU VP Sultan Muhammad Mansur Ahmed, and Gono Forum General Secretary Mostafa Mohsin Montu also attended the meeting.