Hasina holds talks with Badruddoza’s Jukto Front

The leaders of the Jukto Front coalition headed by AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury have met Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina in a dialogue ahead of the parliamentary elections.

The talks on Friday, a day after her dialogue with Dr Kamal Hossain’s Jatiya Oikya Front, lasted for around three hours.

Bikalpadhara Bangladesh chief Badruddoza and the other leaders arrived at the Ganabhaban for the talks with the prime minister just minutes before 7:30pm on Friday.

Bikalpadhara Secretary General Abdul Mannan and Presidium Member Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury were in the same car that carried the party chief to the prime minister’s residence.

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader welcomed them to the Ganabhaban.

Jukto Front chief AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury, accompanied by his Bikalpadhara Bangladesh’s leaders Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury and Abdul Mannan, arriving at the Ganabhaban for talks with Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina on Friday.

The other members of the 21-strong Jukto Front delegation included Bikalpadhara Presidium Member Golam Sarwar Milon, Vice President Mahmuda Chowdhury, Organising Secretary Omar Faruq, and Executive Member former MP Mazharul Hoque Shah Chowdhury.

BLDP President Nazimuddin Al-Azad, General Secretary Delwar Hossain, Bangladesh NAP Chairman Jebel Rahman Gani, Secretary General M Golam Mostafa Bhuiyan, NDP Chairman Khandaker Golam Mortuza, Bangladesh Janata Party chief Sheikh Asaduzzaman, Jana Dal Chairman Mahbubur Rahman Joy Chowdhury, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian United Minority Front chief Dilip Kumar Das and Labour Party acting chief Hamdullah Al Mehedi were also in the Jukto Front team.

Besides Quader and senior Awami League leaders, the 23-member team of the 14-Party ruling coalition featured Workers Party chief Rashed Khan Menon, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal or JaSod President Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, Moin Uddin Khan Badal, executive president of the party’s another faction, and Samyobadi Dal leader Dilip Barua.

On Thursday, Hasina sat with Dr Kamal-led Oikya Front, of which the BNP is a part.

Dr Kamal initially said the talks were “good and would bear fruit”, but later added they found “no specific solution” in the dialogue.

The BNP was unhappy with the talks, as Hasina maintained the release of the party’s chief Khaleda Zia, who is in jail after being convicted of graft, depended on the court.

She also refused to step down and form a nonpartisan government before the 11th parliamentary elections as demanded by the Oikya Front.

Gono Forum President Dr Kamal had started the process of forming the new alliance with Badruddoza, the Jatiya Samatantrik Dal of ASM Abdur Rab and the Nagorik Oikya of Mahmudur Rahman Manna months before the general elections.

They placed a five-point charter of demand. The key demand was the dissolution of parliament before the general elections to be overseen by a nonpartisan government.

 Their other demands include reforming the EC through talks with all the political parties, deployment of the army with magistracy powers during the polls, withdrawal of cases started against politicians and students during recent protests, and no use of electronic voting machines or EVMs in the elections.

Their five demands were also those made by the BNP, which joined the process to form the new coalition later.

The Oikya Front added two more demands, including release of Khaleda when Rab and Manna eventually left the Badruddoza-led Jukto Front and formed the new alliance headed by Dr Kamal with the BNP in it.

Badruddoza and the Jatiya Party’s HM Ershad also sought an audience with the prime minister, and Hasina granted their wish.

She is now scheduled to sit with Ershad next Monday.

The talks are expected to ease political tensions between the Hasina-led administration and opposition groups.