Yunus contemplates forming govt in Bangladesh with anti-Awami League parties

Bangladesh interim head Md Yunus under pressure from Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to call for an early election is contemplating to form a national govt comprising several political parties but without organizing polls.

Yunus has been exploring the idea of forming an interim government comprising several political parties minus Awami League, ET has learnt. It is further learnt that he may be toying with the idea of wooing a few Awami League (AL) leaders as part of this experiment. However, such leaders are not the core AL leadership but among those who joined AL over the past decade and have conservative political ideology.

The idea, according to Bangladesh experts who did not wish to be quoted, is to form a government comprising leaders from BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and other Islamist parties and figures who are opposed to AL and may not necessarily be positive towards India.


The experiment is not new in Bangladesh politics as during the 1970s Gen Ziaur Rahman gathered anti-AL and anti-India leaders to create BNP. Later Gen HM Ershad after taking over reins of power formed the Jatiya Party to run the country.

The proposed exercise is also aimed at assuaging the international community on a representative government. Yunus has been sending mixed signals on announcing elections and wants to focus on creating a new party before next polls to the discomfort of BNP. The BNP wants to cash in on the anti-AL "sentiments" instead of delaying elections as it feels delay will dent their "popularity". The Tarique Rahman faction of the BNP wants the exiled leader to return to Dhaka to take over reins and emerge as the Prime Minister following the elections, sources said. The idea of Yunus and his supporters however is to adopt a minus 2 formula and exclude AL and BNP from power even though BNP backed by Jamaat played a key role in ouster of PM Sheikh Hasina through street power.

Meanwhile, as reported by ET earlier, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is scheduled to visit Dhaka on December 9 for Foreign Office Consultations during which he is expected to raise India's security concerns.