DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Students in Bangladesh who led a mass uprising to topple former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last summer are now diving into politics by forming the new National Citizen Party.
The aim is to create new political space in a fiercely divisive dynastic political landscape. For decades, the country’s politics have been dominated by two former prime ministers and archrivals — Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia.
The announcement came Friday at a rally in front of Parliament in Dhaka, during which political reforms were promised for a country born in 1971 through a bloody war against Pakistan.
Thousands of people, mainly youths, gathered to witness the moment. Critics of Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, who heads the interim government, say the new party is nothing but a “King’s Party” blessed by him. But political analysts say the new platform might be able to break the decades-long traditional political power structure in the South Asian nation.
Who are they?
The new party has been named the Jatiya Nagarik Party, or National Citizen Party.
Nahid Islam, a 26-year-old prominent student leader, was named as the head of the party. Nine other officials — all of them student leaders who rose to prominence during the mass uprising in July and August — have been named to top positions, according to Bangladeshi media.
A 151-member committee of the party was announced during the launch.
Supporters say a party is needed to bring reforms to the country’s political culture of nepotism, and to tackle corruption and lack of democratic practices.
What is the party’s mission?
Islam announced that the party’s mission is to dismantle “constitutional autocracy and adopt a new democratic constitution.”
“We must eliminate all possibilities of restoring constitutional autocracy. Now is the time to dream anew, to march forward, and to build a new Bangladesh,” Islam said as he read out the declaration.
He said that the mass uprising wasn’t merely about ousting a government, but also about reshaping the entire political framework.
The party is committed to fostering a political culture where “unity prevails over division, justice replaces vengeance, and merit triumphs over dynastic politics,” Islam said.
Who was invited to the launch?
The organizers said that they invited Yunus, his interim government’s other advisers, heads of political parties, including Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party and others.
Hasina’s Awami League Party and its 13 other previous allies weren’t invited to the launching ceremony. Yunus or other advisers from his interim Cabinet didn’t attend the event. Foreign diplomats were also invited but diplomats from India and other major global powers weren’t spotted at the rally.
Islam and his colleagues have been campaigning for months for Hasina to be put on trial for hundreds of deaths during the July-August uprising. The student leaders involved in the new party have also talked fiercely against India, accusing the neighboring country of exhibiting hegemony over Bangladesh, drawing a sharp reaction from India.
On Friday, a giant stage was installed on a major thoroughfare just in front of the Parliament building in Dhaka. The organizers said they expected up to 300,000 people during the party’s launch. But witnesses said up to 50,000 attended the event.
Who is funding the new party?
After the installation of the interim government, Yunus repeatedly said that he was appointed by the students who led the anti-Hasina uprising.
It wasn’t clear if Yunus had any direct role behind forming the new party, but many critics of Yunus said, mainly on social media, that the formation of the party is an effort to unveil a “king’s party.”
But Bangladeshi analyst Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah told The Associated Press: “Most probably it’s more than that.
“They have an aspiration to connect young people who felt disconnected in a great way with the mainstream political forces like Hasina’s Awami League party and Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party,” he said. “And, of course this new party has blessings from Muhammad Yunus.”
Kalimullah said the new party “most probably” has “a future.”
What’s next?
The new party is expected to seek registration with the country’s Election Commission to participate in the next election, which is expected to be held either in December or by June 2026.
The party will try to form an alliance with other parties except Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which is hoping to form the next government. The new party’s relationship with the Jamaat-e-Islami party remains unclear.
Hasina’s Bangladesh Awami League party is under tremendous pressure after she fled to India and thousands of party leaders and activists have either left the country, gone into hiding or have been arrested. The student wing of Hasina’s party has already been banned by the Yunus-led government, which has been struggling to stabilize the country’s law and order situation since the ouster of Hasina.
