Bangladesh Nationalist Party বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | BNP Nationalist Party[1] |
| Chairperson | Khaleda Zia Tarique Rahman (acting)[2] |
| General Secretary | Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir |
| Standing Committee | National Standing Committee |
| Spokesperson | Ruhul Kabir Rizvi |
| Founder | Ziaur Rahman |
| Founded | 1 September 1978 (46 years ago) (1978-09-01) |
| Preceded by | Jatiyatabadi Ganatantrik Dal[a] |
| Headquarters | 80, Bhashani Bhaban,Naya Paltan,Dhaka[3] |
| Newspaper | |
| Student wing | Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Chatradal |
| Youth wing | Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Jubodal |
| Women's wing | Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Mohila Dal |
| Trade union | Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Sramik Dal |
| Farmer wing | Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Krishak Dal |
| Volunteer wing | Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Swechhasebak Dal[4] |
| Clergy wing | Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Ulama Dal[5] |
| Ideology | Liberalism (Bangladeshi) Egalitarianism Conservatism (Bangladeshi) Economic liberalism |
| Political position | Centre tocentre-right |
| National affiliation | None Former:
|
| Regional affiliation | Asia Pacific Democracy Union[6][7] |
| International affiliation | Centrist Democrat International |
| Colors | Red Green (national colours)[b] Sky blue (customary)[6][7][8] |
| Slogan |
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| Anthem |
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| MPs in theJatiya Sangsad | Parliament dissolved |
| Mayors in theCity Corporations | 1 / 1 [c] |
| Councillors in theCity Corporations | Post dissolved |
| Chairman’s in theDistrict councils | Post dissolved |
| Chairman’s in theSubdistrict Councils | Post dissolved |
| Chairman’s in theUnion councils | Post dissolved |
| Election symbol | |
| Party flag | |
 | |
| Website | |
| bnpbd.org | |
TheBangladesh Nationalist Party (Bengali:বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল,romanized: Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Dal),[1][d] popularly abbreviated asBNP ([ˈbijenpi]), is a majorpolitical party inBangladesh. Founded on 1 September 1978 by former president of Bangladesh,Ziaur Rahman with a view of uniting people with anationalist ideology, the BNP later became one of the two traditionally dominant parties in Bangladesh, along with their rival, theAwami League.[e]
Known as the "Party of the Freedom Fighters of the Battlefield",[9] BNP was founded by Ziaur Rahman after the presidential election of 1978 and remained in its leadership until hisassassination in 1981. Following Rahman's assassination, his widow,Khaleda Zia, took over leadership of the party and presided as chairperson until her imprisonment, in 2018. Since then,Tarique Rahman, the son of Rahman and Zia, has served as acting chairperson and has run the affairs of the party fromLondon.[10]
Since its creation, the BNP has won the1979 election and1981 presidential election as well as the1991,February 1996 and2001 general elections.[11][12][13] Ziaur Rahman-led governments formed under thesemi-presidential system and theparliamentary republics were led by Khaleda Zia, who served asprime minister.[14] Begum Zia, who served as the party's chairperson from 1983, became the first woman prime minister of Bangladesh and the second female prime minister of aMuslim-majority country afterPakistan'sBenazir Bhutto. The party holds the record of being the largest opposition in the history of parliamentary elections of the country with 116 seats in thegeneral election of June 1996.[15]
Begum Khaleda Zia is currently the chairperson of the party, with Tarique Rahman as the senior vice-chairman andMirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as the secretary-general. The party tends to consulate votes based on complete independence of Bangladeshi territory and a mix ofBengali andIslamic customs. It is often known to be pro-global with being very pro-China or pro-Southeast Asia and pro-Middle East to capture markets on foreign investment and remittance.[16]
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After theindependence of Bangladesh, chaos and power struggles between different groups ensued. Political murders became a common thing,[17] and productivity of key industries did not return to the pre-independence level.[18] Despite the funnelling of million dollar-worth of aid, Bangladesh was in acute shortage of foreign currency, and political patronage made it difficult to distribute the aid to the poorest quintile of the citizens.[19] In 1974, after a devastating flood despite the availability of food grains, a famine began that killed around a million.[20] Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the thenPrime Minister of Bangladesh, in a desperate bid to save the situation, amended the constitution and "institutionalizedautocracy" by making him effectively the "unimpeachable" President and curtailed the freedom of the judiciary and press.[21]
Eight months after the constitutional amendment, he waskilled along with his family members in apre-dawn coup on August 15, 1975, that threw the country into deeper turmoil. A section of his colleagues from theAwami League, backed by his killers, took charge of the state under the leadership ofKhondaker Mostaq Ahmed, his longtime friend.[22]
On November 3,a counter-coup led by theChief of General Staff of theBangladesh Army, Brigadier GeneralKhaled Mosharraf put the Chief of Army, Major General Ziaur Rahman, under house arrest, made himself the chief of the army, and replaced President Mostaq Ahmed with his nominee Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem. But before he could consolidate his grip over the situation,another counter-coup was staged by the followers of Zia within the army, orchestrated by retired ColonelAbu Taher on November 7, that freed Zia and brought him to the centre of power.[23]
After the counter-coup of November 7, a military administration was formed, with President Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem as the chief martial law administrator. Ziaur Rahman, the chief of the Army, became a deputy chief martial law administrator along with the two other chiefs of theNavy andAir Force. However,Bangladesh's constitution did not have any provision for these arrangements.[24][failed verification]
President Sayem formed a board of advisors to run the country where Zia was bestowed with the portfolio of Finance, Home affairs, Information and Broadcasting.[25] The new president declared a date for the national election. However, most of the political parties were against the election, as they were largely unprepared compared to their rival Awami League. This made the situation difficult for the president.[23][failed verification]
In early 1977, the president was diagnosed with a problem in his gallbladder, and his doctor advised him to go for long rest, compelling him to think of retiring from his position. On April 20 of the year, his advisors, led byAbdus Sattar came to see him and advised him to resign in favour of Ziaur Rahman. President Sayem summoned Ziaur Rahman and asked about his thoughts regarding this proposed arrangement, to which Zia agreed wholeheartedly.[26][failed verification]
On April 21, President Sayem resigned, and Ziaur Rahman took charge as president of Bangladesh.[27]
On 22 February 1978, a new party,Jatiyatabadi Ganatantrik Dal (JaGoDal), was formed with JusticeAbdus Sattar as the coordinator. Most of the prominent figures were from the advisory council that was running the country at that time. JAGODAL was the first attempt to create a platform for the country'snationalists. Major General (retd) M. Majid ul Haq, ProfessorSyed Ali Ahsan, Shamsul Alam Chowdhury,A.Z.M. Enayetullah Khan,M. Hamidullah Khan, Jakaria Chowdhury, Professor Dr. M. R. Khan, andSaifur Rahman were prominent figures.[28] JAGODAL was dissolved on 28 August 1978 to consolidate its membership under the Jatiyatabadi Front.
On 1 May 1978, the Jatiyatabadi Front or Nationalist Front was formed with Ziaur Rahman as the front's chief, which JAGODAL joined soon after its formation. A major portion ofNAP (Bhashani) joined the front as well withMashiur Rahman. The election symbol ofNAP (Bhashani), sheaf of paddy, would become the symbol of the BNP.Shah Azizur Rahman with some of his colleagues fromMuslim League.Kazi Zafar Ahmed and a faction of United Peoples Party, Maulana Matin with his Labour Party, and minority leader Rashraj Mandal with Tafsili Jati Federation also joined.
Ziaur Rahman was their candidate for the presidential election of 3 June 1978. Ziaur Rahman won the election, defeatingM. A. G. Osmani of Ganatantrik Oikya Jote (United Democratic Alliance) which was backed by the Bangladesh Awami League.[29]
After the presidential election of 1978, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was established on 1 September.[30] The newly established party soon emerged as a"hotchpotch" of leftists, rightists,opportunists, and Pakistan-eraestablishmenterians.[31]
The constitution of the party was drafted within 21 days of the formation with 76 members withZiaur Rahman as the chief convener,M. Hamidullah Khan as the Executive Secretary and Dr.A. Q. M. Badruddoza Chowdhury was appointed as the Secretary-General.
During this time, it attracted a large pool of supporters and activists who joined the newly formed student wing and youth wing. After the formation of the government, the first executive committee of the party was declared. A national standing committee was formed as the highest decision-making forum of the party with 12 members.[32]
A youth wing was formed in September 1978 which was namedBangladesh Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal with Abul Kashem as its chief convener. The Dhaka unit convener was Saifur Rahman. Within a couple of months, the central executive committee of Jubo Dal was declared with Abul Kashem and Saifur Rahman as the President and general secretary respectively.Mirza Abbas became the Dhaka unit President with Kamruzzaman Ayat Ali as the Secretary-General.[33]
The BNP formed its first government after the 1979 Bangladesh general election. The first session of the parliament was on 2 April 1979. It elected Shah Azizur Rahman as prime minister and leader of the parliament.Mirza Ghulam Hafiz was elected as the speaker of the parliament.Asaduzzaman Khan from the Awami League became the leader of the opposition.
On 30 May 1981, the founder of the party President Ziaur Rahman was assassinated in the Chittagong Circuit House by a small group of military officials. After theassassination of Ziaur Rahman, large crowds started protesting in major cities likeDhaka andChittagong.[34] The funeral of Ziaur Rahman became a huge event with the participation of millions of people in Dhaka.[35]
In the1981 Bangladeshi presidential election,Abdus Sattar was elected. He formed the National Security Council to involve theBangladesh Armed Forces. Meanwhile, Vice President Mirza Nurul Huda resigned from his post in March 1982.[36]
Army ChiefHussain Muhammad Ershad thwarted the elected government of Justice Sattar on 24 March 1982 and replaced him with JusticeA. F. M. Ahsanuddin Chowdhury. The BNP was thrown out of power. Many of its leaders were imprisoned,[34] including former Minister S.A. Bari, Saifur Rahman, Habibullah Khan, Tanvir Ahmed Siddiqui, Atauddin Khan, Jamal Uddin Ahmed, K.M. Obaidur Rahman, Abul Hasnat, and Moudud Ahmed. 233 leaders of BNP were arrested from March to July 1982.[37]
From 1983, BegumKhaleda Zia became the de facto decision-maker of the party. Under her leadership, the BNP formed a new anti-government alliance against the autocratic Ershad regime. It was named after the number of parties with it, 7-Party Alliance.[38]
BNP launched a massive anti-government movement after co-ordination with Awami League-led 15-Party Alliance in September 1983. The 7-Party Alliance arranged a mass gathering and called a nationwide strike on 1 November 1983. The strike had successful results. After that, the alliance called to surround the Secretariat on 28 November 1983 along with the 15-Party Alliance.[39] Thousands of BNP activists led by then Executive Secretary (later designated Office Secretary)M. Hamidullah Khan surrounded the secretariat building at Paltan and broke a large hole in the southern corner of the boundary wall of the building. The police retaliated with indiscriminate firing of live bullets.[39]M. Hamidullah Khan was arrested on 3 November in the afternoon from his residence at Dhaka Cantonment. A ban on political activities was imposed that night and Begum Khaleda Zia was kept under house arrest. The government was severely shaken at the core. A long curfew and ban on politics was imposed.
On 29 February 1984, Ershad declared that the ban on politics would be lifted on 26 March and on 27 May, both the presidential and national elections would be held. The 7-Party Alliance asked for the national election before the presidential election. After lifting the ban, Khaleda Zia attended an extended meeting of the party on 1 April, where she was made the acting chairperson of the party. In May, the Chairperson Justice Sattar resigned and Khaleda Zia was made the chairperson of the party.[33]
Under the leadership of Khaleda Zia, the first major step BNP took was to expel leaders like Shah Azizur Rahman, Moudud Ahmed, AKM Maidul Islam, Abdul Alim, and Barrister Sultan Ahmed Chowdhury from the party. These leaders formed a committee with Shah Aziz as the President and AKM Maidul Islam as the general secretary. This faction later joined the Jatiya Front andJatiya Party.[citation needed]
On 23 September 1984, while addressing a rally inBogra, 10-12 handmade grenades were charged at the rally and some of them were aimed at the stage, where Khaleda Zia was giving her speech.[40][page needed] Khaleda Zia narrowly escaped injury while eleven members of her party received severe injuries. A nationwide strike was called in protest at this attack on 22 and 27 December. The government imposed a ban on political activities on those days to foil the strike, but it was largely ignored. Two people including a student leader from Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Chatra Dal died when police fired on a crowd on 22 December.[40][page needed]
| Party | Chairman |
|---|---|
| Janadal | 190 |
| Bangladesh Nationalist Party | 46 |
| Bangladesh Awami League | 41 |
| Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal-JSD | 15 |
| Muslim League | 9 |
The government amid protests, held upazila elections on 15 May 1985 in 251upazilas and on 20 May in 209. The election was marked by rigging, stuffing, snatching of ballots and electoral fraud. Ershad's newly formed Janadal got 190 candidates as victors. Though, BNP had struggles because of government repression, it got 46 of its leaders as upazila chairmen while the Awami League fared worse with 41 upazila chairmen.[41]
In 1985, BNP's student wingBangladesh Jatiotabadi Chatra Dal formed Shongrami Chatra Jote with Chatra League (Awranga), Chatra League (Pradhan) and five other student organisations and started its resistance against Ershad.
In March 1986, Ershad declared that a national election would be held on 26 April.[42] Both the 7-Party Alliance led by BNP and the 15-Party Alliance led by the Awami League declared a boycott of the election on 17 March. Both called a joint rally on 21 March and a nationwide strike on 22 March as the immediate program to thwart the forthcoming election.
| Party | Seats | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Jatiya Party | 153 | 42.34% |
| Bangladesh Awami League | 76 | 26.16% |
| Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami | 10 | 4.61% |
| Communist Party of Bangladesh | 5 | – |
| National Awami Party | 5 | – |
The night before the nationwide strike on 22 March, the Awami League called a meeting of the 15-Party Alliance but Sheikh Hasina refused to take part in the meeting. In the meeting, the majority of the parties including the Awami League opined in favour of the election. General Khalilur Rahman of Awami League maintained close contact with the army headquarters during the meeting that night. Sheikh Hasina was discussing with General Khalil periodically.[39]
On the final hours of 21 March 1986, Sheikh Hasina announced that the Awami League and her alliance would participate in the election. Five parties of the alliance parted ways from the Awami League after the announcement and decided to boycott the election. BNP and the 7-Party Alliance with the newly formed 5-Party alliance of leftists started campaigning against the election while the Awami League andBangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami joined the election.
The election was largely boycotted. BNP Chairperson mobilised a large pool of political parties and their leaders behind her to boycott the election. Apart from the BNP-led 7-Party Alliance and leftist 5-Party Alliance, 17 more parties including BNP (Shah Aziz), Samajbadi Dal (Nirmal Sen), Democratic League (Moshtaq), Democratic League (Oli Ahad),Islamic Democratic League,Islami Andolon (M. A. Jalil), Janata Party,Jatiya Ganatantrik Party, Labour Party (Maolana Matin), Muslim League (Kamruzzaman), Progatishil Ganatantrik Shakti and so on.[32]
Khaleda Zia reiterated that the BNP would participate only if:
The anti-election alliance under BNP called for a nationwide strike on election day. Unrest, voting fraud and malpractices marked the election day according to the opposition parties.[43] Both the Awami League and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami conceded a humiliating defeat in the election.[39]
General Hussain Muhammad Ershad got himself elected on 15 October 1986. Prior to theelection, Khaleda Zia was put under house arrest on 13 October.[44]
In a joint declaration, the two alliances called for "Siege Dhaka" program on 10 November 1987. The government imposed a ban on public gatherings ahead of the program which was defied on the day and during the program, the capital of the country virtually went under the control of the opposition alliances.[45] This incident infuriated the opposition and a nationwide protest was called on the following day. The government came hard-handed and both Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina were put under house arrest on 11 October.[45] Both the parties and their partners in the movement declared frequent nationwide strikes for the next days until the end of the year.
BNP was determined not to join the poll under the Ershad regime and decided to boycott thegeneral election of 1988 after the abolishment of the previous parliament. The election was held on 3 March without the participation of any popular party or alliance rather a combined opposition was led by ASM Abdur Rab. BNP called a nationwide on Election Day and declared they would resist the election.[46]
On the advice of Dr.Badruddoza Chowdhury, BNP chief Begum Zia on 21 June 1988, suspended the national standing committee and executive committee on the party for various reasons including the failures of strengthening the party of leaders. During this opportunity, former military officers were also removed from leadership positions within the party.M. Hamidullah Khan was relieved from his post as Executive Secretary. On 3 July 1988, BarristerAbdus Salam Talukder, a distinguished lawyer, was assigned with the post of Secretary General of the party instead ofKM Obaidur Rahman. Soon after the removal of Obaidur, he withJamal Uddin Ahmed and Abul Hasnat formed a new party with the same name.[47] On 17 July of the same year,Shah Azizur Rahman dissolved the BNP faction with him and joined the party with his followers on 26 August. Barrister Abdus Salam Talukder restructured the BNP, making it a stronger political platform that thrived through a critical time with a goal to topple Ershad's regime.[48]
The movement against Ershad started gaining momentum in October 1990. The BNP-led 7-party alliance, the Awami League-led 8-party alliance and the Leftist 5-party alliance started a movement to usurp Ershad on 10 October 1990 and declared a nationwide strike on that day. The strike claimed 5 lives, including three BNP activists who were rallying in front of the central office of the Jatiya Party when the Jatiya Party cadres opened fire on the crowd.[49]
On 28 November, the opposition parties including BNP and its student wing defied the curfew and state of emergency and came out with large processions. The curfew and state of emergency was the last resort for Ershad which became ineffective by the end of November 1990.[50] On 3 December, the protests became more violent and many died. Bombs were hurled at the Sena Kalyan Sangstha building at Motijheel. From 27 November to 3 December, more than fifty protesters died.[50] On 4 December, the mass uprising took place and Ershad declared his resignation.
Dhaka University Central Students' Union (DUCSU) which has always been a centre of all popular movements in the history of Bangladesh came under the control of Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Chatra Dal after the election of 3 June 1990.[51][52][53] TheAmanullah Aman-Khairul Kabir Khokan panel backed by Chatra Dal won all the posts and took the lead of the students' movement in theUniversity of Dhaka campus.[51][53]
The Chatra Dal-led DUCSU committee allied with all existing student groups on the campus, Sarbadaliya Chatra Oikya Parishad (All-party Students Alliance Council) and staged a demonstration on 1 October 1990.[52] The protests turned violent after the police firing on a rally of Chatra Dal on 10 October that claimed the life ofNaziruddin Jehad, a Chatra Dal leader from Sirajganj who came to Dhaka to join the rally against Ershad.[54][55]
The series of student protests compelled the Ershad regime to think about a safe exit.[56]
On 7 December 1989, the BNP-supported White panel of teachers got the highest number of Deans elected from their panel including ProfessorAnwarullah Chowdhury, ProfessorS M Faiz, Assistant ProfessorM. Anwar Hossain and Associate ProfessorHumayun Ahmed.[57]
The pro-BNP White panel of teachers, which dominated theDhaka University Teachers Association, declared an all-out movement against the Ershad regime in 1990. All the teachers decided to resign from their posts on 29 November and confirmed their decision of not returning to classes until the fall of Ershad. The firm reaction from the teachers jeopardised the Ershad regime.[58]
After the fall of Ershad, because of the commitment to the national interest the White panel of teachers won a decisive victory on 24 December 1990 in the election of Dhaka University Teachers Association once again with Professor Anwarullah Chowdhury as the President of the association with Professor M. Anwar Hossain as the general secretary.[59]
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The military-backed government promised to tackle the longstanding problems of corruption, filing charges against more than 160 politicians, civil servants and businessmen in 2007. Among those charged were Khaleda Zia and her two sons, as well as Sheikh Hasina, leader of the Awami League.[60]
TheBangladesh Election Commission invited Hafizuddin's faction, rather than Khaleda Zia's, to participate in talks, effectively recognising the former as the legitimate BNP. Khaleda Zia challenged this in court, but her appeal was rejected on 10 April 2008.[60] After her release later that year, Zia was restored to her position as party leader.[61]
In the2008 Bangladesh general election, the 4-party alliance led by BNP won 33 seats out of 299 constituencies, of which the BNP alone got 30.[62]
After sanctions by the Election Commission, the party held country-wide events for local leaders to play an active role in the national party.[63] The BNP National Council empowered re-elected party chairperson Khaleda Zia to pick other members for the National Executive Committee and Standing Committee.[64] It elected her eldest son, Tarique Rahman, to the powerful post as Senior vice-chairman, in a "move apparently designed to smooth his path to the party helm."[64]
After several movements in a period of severe political unrest between 2012 and 2014 to prevent the ruling party from holding the10th general election in January 2014 without a neutral caretaker government, Khaleda led BNP and its allies in a boycott of the election. Incidents of violence were reported on polling day including the bombing of election centres, which the BNP and its allies were accused of. Over 100 people were killed in the 2016 Union Parishad Election in violent clashes between Awami League and BNP supporters.[65] In 2016, the BNP announced its new National Standing Committee, in which Khaleda retained her position as chairperson. New members were recruited while some older members were removed, and various new strategies for party operation were formulated.[66][67] In May 2017, Khaleda revealed BNP's Vision 2030 to gain public support for the next general elections.[68] However the ruling Awami League government denounced Vision 2030 as an act of plagiarism of Awami League's Vision 2021 which they used in the ninth general election and claimed most of the targets in the Visions were fulfilled by Awami League, thus declaring BNP's Vision 2030 as unoriginal. BNP also announced it will hold processions to hold the 11th general elections under a neutral government. This renewed tensions between BNP and Awami League.
On 8 February 2018, Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman as per court verdict, were jailed for 5 and 10 years respectively due to involvement in theZia Charitable Trust corruption case. While Tarique was in exile, Khaleda was imprisoned in the old Dhaka Central Jail on Nazimuddin Road. In protest, BNP held nationwide demonstrations, which were foiled by a well-prepared police force across the nation. A large number of BNP activists were arrested during clashes with the police during the protests against Khaleda's imprisonment.[69]
On 9 October 2018, the Bangladesh government formed a nine-member group to detect and monitor rumors on social media sites such as Facebook.Tarana Halim said the group's goal was to ensure that "people [have] the right information only."[70] Two months later, approximately 30 accounts linked to the spreading offictitious news reports regarding the BNP were blocked from Facebook and Twitter.[71]
After the jailing of chairpersonBegum Khaleda Zia, BNP expedited the process of forging a national unity with prominent leaders of the country. In October 2018, the party formally announced its joining ofJatiya Oikya Front with Dr.Kamal Hossain at its forefront.[72]
There was controversy in the run-up to the elections surrounding the nomination of bannedJamaat candidates under the BNP banner. In 2013, the Jamaat-e-Islami was banned from registering and therefore contesting in elections by theHigh Court, citing their charter in violation of the constitution.[73][74] However, 25 Jamaat candidates ran in the election, with 22 nominations for BNP and 3 running as independents.[75][76] An investigation was launched but on 23 December theElection Commission Secretary Helaluddin Ahmed said they had examined the related law and "there is no scope for rejecting the Jamaat leaders' candidacy at this moment."[76] On 26 December, just days before the election, Jatiya Oikya Front leader Kamal Hossain expressed his regret about Jamaat's involvement in the elections under his alliance, claiming "had I known [that Jamaat leaders will be given BNP tickets] I would not have been part of it."[77] The media, however, had reported at the end of November that this was happening.[75][78]
On 26 March 2020, BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia's prison sentence was suspended for six months amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and she was granted a conditional release because she received medical treatment within the country and did not travel abroad.[79] The six-month suspension has been granted for a total of six consecutive times, with the most recent one being on 18 September 2022.[80] Since Zia's release, the BNP campaigned for her unconditional release and for the ruling government to allow her to travel abroad.[81]
In preparation for the upcoming 2024 general election, the BNP launched a series of rallies which advocated for the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the return of thecaretaker government.[82] During a rally held in Dhaka on 10 December 2022, seven BNP lawmakers announced their resignation from the current government in demands of the dissolution of parliament, the formation of a new election commission, and allowing the election to be held under a neutral caretaker government.[83]
BNP actively supported the2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement.[84][85] Later, it joined theNon-cooperation movement against theSheikh Hasina government.[86][87]
After fall of Sheikh Hasina, BNP chairpersonBegum Khaleda Zia was set free after.[88] Following her release she offered a speech to the nation after six years of imprisonment.[89] After interim government was formed, the party urged for democratic election.[90][91][92]
Bangladesh Nationalist Party is abig tent party that has been cited as being on thecentre[112] andcentre-right[118] of thepolitical spectrum with ideological base combiningliberalism,[123]egalitarianism,[126]conservatism,[127] andeconomic liberalism.[128] Party's official website states its founding principles to be–"full faith and trust inAllah",Bangladeshi nationalism,democracy andsocialism "in the sense ofeconomic and social justice".[129]
BNP was originally formed when a political vacuum was occurring in Bangladesh, mainly resulting from thecoups–countercoups of 1975. As a result, after the withdrawal of military rule, various politicians, regardless of party & ideological affiliation, joined the newly formed BNP to return to mainstream politics.[130] Many of them had contradictory ideologies to each other, including politicians from various Islamist parties to "pro-China left andNAP".[9] Canadian-Bangladeshi analyst Mir Aftabuddin Ahmed called early BNP "a coalition of convenience rather than ideology".[96] Many political experts, including Ahmed, believe that since BNP was born afterAwami League was overthrown, the BNP was an attempt to establish a position in the areas where Awami League was moderate.[130][96]
Concerning the ideology, Syed Manjurul Islam, a professor of the English department at Dhaka University, stated,
Ziaur Rahman thought that he would do a particular politics based on Bangladesh which the left to the Islamists would be united. As a result, he would work forward keeping distance from those who believed inBengali nationalism or the spirit of the Liberation War.[130]
According to the political analyst Maruf Mallick, BNP was founded as acentre-left,liberal andsocial democratic political party and the party's early political and economic policy was inspired by theWestern Europeansocial liberal politics.[131]
Senior BNP leaderKhandaker Mosharraf Hossain said about BNP's ideology,
The changes that were made in many fundamental issues become the basis or ideology of the party. [...] Bangladeshi nationalism, faith in Allah,Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim and establishment of a justice-based society - these are BNP was born with these as ideals. At the same time, BNP promoted private ownership and a free market economy. BNP still stands on these ideals.[130]
Bangladeshi nationalism is the central ideology of the party.[132] It was adopted from the 19-point program, which declared, "The sovereignty and independence of Bangladesh, golden fruits of the historic liberation struggle, is our sacred trust and inviolable right."[citation needed] According to its founder Ziaur Rahman, the "Bangladeshi" identity, based on its history, traditions, culture and geographical territory, is different from the neighbouring nations and unique to itself.[133] Maruf Mallick argued that Zia wanted to move away from "narrow minded"ethnic andreligious nationalism and wanted to create the identity of the citizens on the basis of the state, basically on the model of Western orNorthern European countries.[119] BNP's declaration supports apopulism based on nationalism.[134]
The party fiscally call itselfsocialist,[129] and claim to have practiced "people's democracy".[134] Founding principles of the party included social and economic justice in light of socialism.[129] But pragmatically, BNP promoteeconomic liberalism and support afree-market economy with limitedintervention.[135] Ziaur Rahman believed that the previoussocialist-influenced economy had been in a poor shape because of "years of colonial-style exploitation". To abate the deteriorating conditions, a revamp of the economic system is required. According to Mubashar Hasan, this new economic system was primarily an "outline for acapitalist system".[136] According to Mallick, early BNP was inspired by the Europeansocial liberal policies which supported equaldistribution of wealth andsocial welfare but opposed strongeconomic regulatory policies of its predecessor Awami League.[131]
BNP's position on religion remains complicated and changed over time. The founding manifesto of the BNP claims that the people of Bangladesh want to "...see that all-out faith and confidence in the almighty Allah, democracy, nationalism". Although the party does not officially call itself Islamic, its official website states that the party aims to "preserve theage old human values of the Bangladeshi people through the teaching ofIslam–religion of the majority of Bangladeshi people and other religions".[135] At the same time, the party also promotesreligious freedom andtolerance as a component of Bangladeshi nationalism. Many founding leaders of the party were non-Muslims. Ziaur Rahman rejectedtheocracy as the governing system for Bangladesh.[137]
In recent times, there were several instances where party were seemed to depict itselfsecular, such as claims by their leaders,[138]discrediting religious scriptures to politics,[139][140][141] and vowing to upholdsecular identity of the country.[142] In 2018,Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir stated that BNP doesn't believe inIslamic law as well as rejectingfundamentalism.[143] The party was also seen uninterested to align with it's longtime political partnerJamaat-e-Islami[121] and formally cut off ties in August 2024.[144] The party has also shown signs of shifting away from its traditional moderate Islamic values, adopting positions that appear more aligned withsecular political principles.[145][146] Although, BNP publicly deny being secular orpluralist.[147]
BNP joint secretary Syed Emran Saleh Prince described the party as a "religion-friendly political party", while rejecting religion-based politics. He stated the party believes inreligious values,religious freedom, "trust and faith in Almighty Allah", and communal harmony. Speaking of BNP's position, he said:[148]
"After independence, the Awami League imposedirreligiousness in the name of secularism. Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman respected the sentiments of the majority people by addingBismillahir Rahmanir Rahim and religious values and trust and faith in Almighty Allah in place of secularism. BNP continues to uphold that policy of Shaheed Zia."
According to Mallick, BNP is not a religion-based party in a traditional sense and it has a moderate stance on religion.[131] BNP's stance forconservatism represents "a mixture of traditional Bengali customs and moderate Islam".[149] Mir Aftabuddin Ahmed opined:
"Often perceived as a conservative entity due to its previous alliances with Islamist groups, much of the BNP's policy agenda during its nearly 15 years in government was not inherently Islamist. In fact, with a few exceptions, it leaned more toward right- or left-of-centre ideals. However, from 2001 to 2006, the party became too closely associated with Jamaat, making it easy to conflate the BNP's ideology with Jamaat's."[96]
In 1978, President Zia amended theconstitution which gave president more effective control over thecabinet and theparliament. After1979 parliamentary election, Zia formed a cabinet where civil–military bureaucrats dominated. Apart from the cabinet, they also dominated thesecretariat, theNational Economic Council (NEC), the planning commission and the public corporations. During then, BNP emerged as a multi-dimensional "umbrella" party.[101]
Upon taking power, Ziaur Rahman introduced a state-sponsoredIslamization process that had a significant impact on Bangladeshi society and culture.[149]
During Mujib era, the state development strategy envolved every possible way to the extension ofprotectionism. After Zia's ascension to the power, new strategy was taken to encourageprivate enterprise with a primary goal of maximization ofGNP growth rate. Zia's government revised the First Five-Year Plan (1973–1978) taken by the Mujib government and formulated a "Three year hard core plan" for remaining three years. This was followed by the Two-Year Plan (1978–80) and the Second Five Year Plan (1980–85).[101] Ziaur Rahman gave special importance to the development of agriculture. He also planned an integratedcollective farming system.[119]
The main objective of BNP's foreign policy is to maintain good relationships with theWestern world, theMuslim World and theThird World,[135] as well as to maintain a balanced relationship with India. BNP has been described asIndosceptic many times.[149][150] After Ziaur Rahman became the president, his government started to distance themselves from India. Some sources say that the Indo-Bangladesh relations were at their worst in memory duringRahman's presidency.[151]: 93 Anti-Indo-Soviet axis foreign policy was initiated.[151]: 94 On 11 December 1991, in an interview withThe Hindu, then Prime Minister Khaleda Zia said, "We do not want to see the rise of any major power in this region, because it will disturb the peace, stability and balance in this region", here she meant India as the major power.[151]: 117
In 2024, some of the BNP leaders, includingRuhul Kabir Rizvi, joined the "Boycott India" campaign.[114][152] In August 2024, BNP secretary generalMirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir expressed a desire to "move past previous differences and collaborate", assuring India that the BNP would not permit activities that would threaten India's security, but stated that relations would decline if India did not extradite Hasina.[153] Many BNP leaders opined that good relationship with India was necessary for keeping stability in the internal politics of Bangladesh.[121]
Ziaur Rahman's government focused on the strengthening of its relationship with the Muslim world and theArab world. His government amended theConstitution adding articles 25(1) & 25(2) declaring the establishment of brotherhood with the Muslim countries. Until he died in 1981, Rahman regularly visited Muslim countries. Following his predecessor Mostaq, his government continued the close relationship withPakistan. His government abandonedsecularism andsocialism in favour of building good ties with the Muslim world.[151]: 94
Besides, Ziaur Rahman facilitated the investment of Western capital in the country by taking liberal economic measures.[151]: 94 His government improved relations with United States and China.
BNP government's foreign policy during the second premiership of Khaleda Zia between 2001 and 2006 was called "Look East Foreign Policy". In 2002, Prime Minister Zia visitedThailand,Myanmar and China and met with the leaders of those countries to expand Bangladesh's foreign policy to the east.[151]: 98
As of 16 August 2024, standing committee members are followings:[154][155]
| Election | Party candidate | Votes | % | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977(referendum) | Ziaur Rahman | 33,400,870 | 98.9% | Elected Y |
| 1978 | 15,733,807 | 76.6% | ElectedY | |
| 1981 | Abdus Sattar | 14,203,958 | 65.5% | ElectedY |
| Election | Party leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Position | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Ziaur Rahman | 7,934,236 | 41.17% | 207 / 300 | New |  1st | Government |
| 1986 | Khaleda Zia | Boycotted | 0 / 300 |  207 | — | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 1988 | Boycotted | 0 / 300 |  0 | — | Extra-parliamentary | ||
| 1991 | 10,507,549 | 30.81% | 140 / 300 | 140 | 1st | Government | |
| Feb 1996 | 11,776,481 | 100% | 278 / 300 | 138 | 1st | Government | |
| Jun 1996 | 14,255,986 | 33.61% | 116 / 300 | 162 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 2001 | 22,833,978 | 40.97% | 193 / 300 | 77 | 1st | Coalition government | |
| 2008 | 22,757,101 | 32.50% | 30 / 300 | 163 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 2014 | Boycotted | 0 / 300 | 30 | — | Extra-parliamentary | ||
| 2018 | 11,113,253 | 13.06% | 7 / 300 | 7 | 3rd | Opposition (until 10 December 2022) | |
| Extra-parliamentary (from 10 December 2022) | |||||||
| 2024 | Boycotted | 0 / 300 | 7 | — | Extra-parliamentary | ||
Notes
References
The meeting was presided over by BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman(...)Tarique and his wife Zubaida Rahman have been living in London since 2008.
On Friday, Facebook and Twitter said they had shut down around 30 accounts that had been spreading fake news against the Bangladeshi opposition, some of which appeared to be linked to government figures. The accounts included Facebook pages designed to mimic legitimate news outlets, among them the BBC. False stories included accounts of deep divisions within the BNP's organisational structure, and a made-up tale about Ms Zia firing the party's general secretary in a videotaped message from prison.
Banning the party would only accelerate this trend, uniting leftists, the centrist BNP, and some Islamist forces. ...
The center-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)...
But, defying all odds, Bangladesh's centre-right opposition party, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has just...
স্বাধীনতা–পরবর্তীকালে আওয়ামী লীগ ধর্মনিরপেক্ষতার নামে ধর্মহীনতা চাপিয়ে দিয়েছিল। শহীদ প্রেসিডেন্ট জিয়াউর রহমান সংবিধানে বিসমিল্লাহির রাহমানির রহিম এবং ধর্মনিরপেক্ষতার পরিবর্তে ধর্মীয় মূল্যবোধ ও সর্বশক্তিমান আল্লাহর প্রতি আস্থা ও বিশ্বাস সংযোজন করে সংখ্যাগরিষ্ঠ মানুষের অনুভূতির প্রতি সম্মান জানিয়েছেন। বিএনপি শহীদ জিয়ার সেই নীতি ধারণ করে চলেছে
Media related toBangladesh Nationalist Party at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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