Two femdom babes Bangladeshi politics For decades. One has been exiled. The other has recently been released from detention and is too ill to rule, but her successor is ready to take power.
Former Prime Ministers sheikh hasinaMs Banerjee, 76, fled the country by helicopter to neighbouring India this month as huge crowds marched to her palace demanding an end to her rule.
Just hours after the sudden collapse of his government in the wake of a student-led revolt, his lifelong rival and two-time prime minister Khaleda Zia, 79, was released. For the first time in years, he has been released from house arrest.
Members of Ms. Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) suffered repression and mass arrests under Ms. Hasina, who cited the opposition’s cozy ties with Islamists as justification.
A caretaker government has been running the country since Ms Hasina’s ouster – but it will eventually have to hold new elections, and now that the BNP has gone underground, its members are confident of their prospects.
“People who supported us from behind the scenes for a long time are now coming forward,” said Molik Wasi Tami, leader of the party’s student wing.
‘No political plans’
Interim leader and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, 84, has said he has no plans to remain in politics after his current role ends.
The students who ousted Ms. Hasina from power also have no affection for Ms. Zia, and it is still unclear whether they will support a future BNP government or try to form their own party.
But whatever they decide, analysts say the BNP will be a force when elections come, with a nationwide network, political experience and the will to win.
“The BNP’s appeal will be greater in the next election, whenever it takes place,” said Bangladeshi political expert Ali Riaz.
Ms. Zia herself is too ill to hold the post of Prime Minister for the third time.
He has suffered from a number of chronic health issues since he was sent to jail in 2018 after being convicted in a corruption case, regardless of the actual basis of the charge.
Ms Zia has appeared in public only once since her release, in a pre-recorded video statement delivered from her hospital bed at a BNP rally in Dhaka.
“We need love and peace to rebuild our country,” he told thousands of party supporters. The rally was held two days after Ms Hasina left Bangladesh.
His supporters are planning to take him abroad for urgent medical care, clearing the way for his eldest son and successor Tariq Rehman to take power.
‘he will come back’
Mr Tariq has led the BNP since his mother’s conviction from exile in London, where he fled to escape corruption charges against himself – which his party is now working to end.
“He will return when the legal issues are resolved,” said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
Mr Tarique’s photograph alongside his mother already appears on party banners and promotional material, including at a rally held two days after Ms Hasina’s defeat.
The holding of the rally was a notable departure from Ms Hasina’s rule.
Senior BNP leaders and thousands of activists were jailed ahead of elections in January last year, which returned Ms Hasina to power — without any real political opposition.
The decades-old contest between Ms. Zia and Ms. Hasina is a dynastic battle that is older than the political careers of both women.
Both Ms Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and Ms Zia’s husband, Ziaur Rahman, led the country in the early years following the 1971 Liberation War against Pakistan. Both were assassinated.
The two women took part in protests to oust a military dictator in 1990 and then contested elections against each other the following year. They have alternated in power since then, and their parties remain a vehicle for their fierce rivalry.
Ms. Zia’s first administration in 1991 was praised for liberalizing Bangladesh’s economy, leading to decades of growth. But her second term from 2001 was marred by multiple corruption scandals — some of which involved Mr. Tarique — and Islamist attacks, one of which nearly killed Ms. Hasina.
Ms Zia has also been accused of moving Muslim-majority Bangladesh and her nominally larger party, the BNP, away from their secular roots by allying with the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami.
The partnership has allowed Ms. Hasina to harass both parties by claiming she is fighting extremism — an excuse strengthened by a number of terrorist attacks during her tenure.
Alliance with Jamaat
Abul Kasem Fazlul Haque, a retired Dhaka University professor, said any cooperation between the two forces risked angering secular students who wanted to oust Hasina from power. “They know they will suffer losses if they do politics based on religion,” he said.
But Mr. Alamgir, the BNP secretary general, said the party was ready to renew the coalition if it would boost its chances of forming the next government. “The BNP will definitely seek victory,” he said. “If Jamaat helps, of course.”