The home ministry circular issued on Saturday night did not specify the duration of the deployment. In the past, the governments always specified the duration of such deployments for election purposes.

Moreover, the 'excuse' showed by the home ministry for the deployment contradicts previous records of army deployment during elections.

During previous elections, the army was deployed only 14 days before the polling day in 2001 election, 18 days ahead of June 1996 election, and 23 days before the polling day of 1991 election.

Considering the pattern of deployment of the army during previous elections, the Election Commission (EC) had planned to request the armed forces division on December 26 to deploy the armed forces to maintain law and order situation during the upcoming parliamentary election.

But, President Iajuddin Ahmed in a hurried move on Saturday night ordered the deployment of armed forces disregarding objections of the advisers who said the situation did not deserve such a move at the moment.

Usually, the EC requests the Armed Forces Division to deploy army personnel to maintain law and order situation during parliamentary elections. It also holds a series of meetings with the chiefs of different law enforcing agencies including the army ahead of the polling to review the situation.

This time, the EC prepared an action plan on December 3 for sending a letter to the Armed Forces Division on December 26 requesting the deployment, sources in the EC secretariat said.

The EC also planned to hold a series of meetings with the chiefs of different law enforcing agencies before the polling day.

But directed by the president, the home ministry issued the circular on the deployment on Saturday.

During 2001 election, the troops were supposed to be deployed only a week before the polling date of October 1. Justice Latifur Rahman, the chief of the then caretaker government, said in his memoirs that according to the primary plan, the army was supposed to be deployed from September 22, 2001 back then.

"But later on, analysing the situation and orders of the authorities the army was posted at several places ahead of the planned schedule of September 17, which was completed on September 23 all over the country," Latifur said in his memoirs, "Tattabadhayak Sarkarer Dinguli O Amar Kichhu Katha (Days of the Caretaker Government and My Thoughts).

This time around the EC announced the election schedule on November 27 and it has yet to hold any meeting to review the law and order situation. The EC did not express its concern over the prevailing law and order situation as no major untoward event had occurred since the announcement of the election schedule.

Even the advisory committee to the caretaker government on law and order, which is ironically headed by Iajuddin himself, in its several meetings did not find the law and order situation grave enough to deploy the armed forces.

Political analysts observed that the president called out the army in an apparent bid to thwart the demonstrating political parties' threat to stage an indefinite sit-in around Bangabhaban.