New Delhi, Jan 1 (IANS) Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has urged members of the former ruling Awami League to join its ranks, pledging “full responsibility” for leaders and activists from the party, now banned from participation in the February 12 general election, media reports said.

“You will join our party from the Awami League, and we will take responsibility for you. Be it the jail, the police station, or any duty, we will handle it,” said Jamaat-e-Islami leader and former lawmaker Latifur Rahman at Madanmore in Chapai Nawabganj district of Bangladesh, according to the Dhaka-based news website bdnews24.

The call is an apparent bid at consolidating its base, where the Jamaat is contesting upcoming polls as part of a 10-party alliance in an attempt at returning to power in the South Asian country.

It faces a challenge from its former ally, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), where the Jamaat was a junior member in a coalition government led by the recently deceased former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.

The Jamaat has faced a series of bans and legal challenges, with the initial restriction imposed in 1972 for “misusing religion for political purposes”.

It has since been involved in various political and legal disputes.

The last Awami League government of now-in-exile former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had also imposed a ban due to the Jamaat’s perceived threat to public security and its alleged ‘pro-Pakistan’ role in the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war.

After Hasina’s government was deposed in 2024, the Muhammad Yunus-led interim administration lifted the ban and the party’s registration was restored following a Supreme Court decision.

Now, the Jamaat will contest the February polls after a gap of about 17 years, marking its return to mainstream politics in Bangladesh.

The bdnews24 report later added that Latifur Rahman urged the BNP workers also to join the Jamaat, emphasising “your responsibilities will be ours”, adding “Do not compare the current Jamaat with the old. Today, Jamaat is far stronger”.

An earlier report in Bangladesh’s Daily Observer news site had mentioned about several leaders and activists from the former ruling Awami League joining other parties, like the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, in the wake of the changes in the country’s political equation after the fall of Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government.

Around June last year, according to the Daily Observer report, Jamaat-e-Islami leaders were more reluctant than the BNP to welcome former Awami League members into their fold.

While some local Jamaat leaders claim to have “forgiven” past actions by the Awami League, they remain hesitant about including outsiders in leadership positions, it had added.

Reports quoting opinion poll outcomes suggest that the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is expected to finish a close second to the BNP in the February election.

Overall, the country’s political environment remains highly unstable following the ousting of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.

It is currently experiencing significant unrest marked by violence, protests, targeted attacks on minorities, and strained diplomatic relations with India.

India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar was among six foreign dignitaries to attend Khaleda Zia’s funeral on Wednesday.

He also handed over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s condolence letter to the deceased former Prime Minister’s son Tarique Rahman, who is the BNP’s Acting Chairman.

–IANS

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