AL, JP to jointly face BNP-Jamaat alliance
Awami League (AL) and Jatiya Party (JP) in a latest political development decided to join hands with an eye to securing victory over the BNP-Jamaat alliance in the upcoming national elections.
If voted to power in the next parliamentary polls scheduled for December this year, both the parties agreed in principle to work together for an effective parliament and curb corruption in the country by continuing anti-corruption drives.
AL and JP, altogether winning 47.24 percent of votes cast in the last parliamentary elections, have also planned to forge a greater alliance and launch a special campaign against the anti-liberation war and fundamentalist forces as well as the BNP-Jamaat alliance.
The understanding between the AL and JP was reached in a series of meetings held among top brasses of the two parties at different locations in London from July 18 to 23.
According to sources in the UK, various aspects of the country's present political situation, the upcoming parliamentary and local body elections, post election strategies, the state of emergency, were discussed at the meetings among other issues.
AL President Sheikh Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana, JP Acting Chairman Anisul Islam Mahmud and JP presidium member Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu attended the meetings mediated by JP chairman HM Ershad, the sources said.
Highly placed sources said the meetings had been planned earlier to revive the AL-led grand electoral alliance that was formed prior to the stalled parliamentary polls of January 22 last year.
Unlike the previous grand electoral alliance, the new alliance will not allow any fundamentalist parties to be a part of it and the allied parties will make efforts to bring other pro-liberation forces such as Communist Party of Bangladesh under one umbrella, the sources added.
This initiative, however, has its critics even within the AL-led 14-party alliance. A few parties in the alliance are presently at odds with each other over the nomination of Fazle Hossain Badsha in Rajshahi City Corporation polls.
Rashed Khan Menon, president of Workers Party of Bangladesh, told The Daily Star that JP chief HM Ershad and his party are not deemed to be pro-democratic and secular.
"The issue of including Ershad in the grand electoral alliance ahead of the stalled ninth parliamentary polls was not discussed with us and it wasn't discussed this time either," he said adding that the issues within the 14-party have to be resolved through discussions for a stronger alliance that would stand firm against the anti-liberation war forces.
Hasina upon completion of her visit to Finland and the UK has returned to USA yesterday.
At the meetings leaders of the AL and JP opted for leaving their options open and being prepared to take part in the upazila polls whenever necessary.
The parties however will continue mounting pressure on the government for lifting the emergency and holding the parliamentary polls before the upazila polls, said the sources.
In the meantime, the AL acting president categorically threatened to resist the local body polls under the state of emergency before holding the national elections.
A senior AL leader requesting not to be named said, "If the party does not take part in the polls, it would give rise to massive internal disputes that would be really difficult for the central leadership to control."
Another AL leader said most leaders of the party are in favour of participating in the local body polls, given that the emergency is lifted before holding the polls.
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