Army soldiers patrol on a street as a part of heightened security measures leading up to February 12, 2026 Parliamentary national election, in Dhaka, on February 11, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP
As Bangladesh goes to the polls, the Awami League continues to remain underground while its workers carry out internal discussions dissecting the reasons behind the party’s downfall.
The party’s top leadership, including deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, remain in exile in various countries such as India and Belgium, its grassroots leaders mince no words while examining the reasons that led to the overthrow of the party in the 2024 uprising.
Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel and Hasan Mahmud, who were Ministers in the Sheikh Hasina Government, addressed press conferences in Delhi in January, but Awami League workers who spoke to The Hindu here said that many of the Ministers and individuals who formed the coterie around Ms. Hasina lacked popularity and acceptance within the party.
Mohammed Nahid Akhtar Nahan, a mid-level leader of the Awami League in Rajshahi division, said that the party became internally weak with the passing away of Syed Ashraful Islam, who served as general secretary of the Awami League. Mr. Islam was the son of Syed Nazrul Islam, one of the four major leaders who were killed during the infamous ‘jail killing day’ on November 3, 1975. Mr. Nahan said that Mr. Islam had an impeccable reputation within the party and commitment to its founding principles.
After Mr. Islam died in 2019, Senior Minister Obaidul Quader became the General Secretary. “Obaidul Quader and Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan were not popular. They wielded power and took important decisions, but the party did not benefit organisationally. People from outside were brought into the party because they were big businessmen, and grassroots organisers were mistreated or downgraded, and voicing frank opinion was discouraged,” said Mr. Nahan.
He further shared that while several top leaders of the Awami League fled the country, it was the mid- and lower-level workers who had to face the brunt of popular anger. He claimed that his family home in Rajshahi was attacked in July-August 2024 and that ever since, he and his family members have been living in Dhaka as the large urban spread of the city gives them some sense of security.
“Obaidul Quader started promoting hybrid leaders who came to the Awami League but promoted the interests of their businesses and other political agendas,” said Mr. Nahan. He said that life has been difficult since the Awami League remains banned, though the workers of the party can move around and hold meetings among themselves.
Another Awami League worker, Rakesh Chandra Sarkar of Brahmanbaria district, said the party’s supporters do not want the coterie that used to surround Ms. Hasina to take any important role in future. Mr. Sarkar, who is an advocate in Brahmanbaria, said Awami League workers and supporters are attached to the party and the history of Liberation War of 1971, but they do not regard the top Ministers of the deposed government highly.
He also suggested that a good number of Awami League voters will vote for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) as they feel that, in the current circumstances, the BNP can stabilise the country. “We are workers of the party, and for us, the party comes first. People are genuinely upset with the leaders who used to surround Hasina and benefited the most and are now hiding abroad. We don’t want them to return and take charge of our party in the future,” said Mr. Sarkar.
Published – February 11, 2026 09:42 pm IST
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