The BNP started 2023 much as they had ended 2022, active on the streets and on the march with regular programmes throughout the country, their supporters infused with high hopes of ousting the incumbent Awami League-led government and returning to power after 17 years through a free and fair election, that they maintained could only be held under a neutral administration.
Everything the BNP did all year was aimed at securing this outcome ahead of the country’s 12th parliamentary election, which they hoped to participate in - but not if it was to be held under a government led by Sheikh Hasina. The posturing by some important foreign governments, most notably in Washington, served to put even more wind on the party’s sails towards achieving their objective.
But ultimately the year ended in great dismay for the BNP, with a renewed crackdown on their activities in the last two months leading to almost their entire top leadership either ending up in jail or on the run.
As the party is boycotting the 12 parliamentary polls slated for January 7 following its failure to force the government to accept its demand for a polls-time-neutral administration, political analysts believe it will be very challenging for BNP to stage a comeback in politics and revitalise its rank and file in the coming years.
They also fear that the party is likely to face a serious leadership crisis in the days to come, as around 1500 leaders and activists of the BNP and its associate bodies have already been convicted in different political cases from years ago getting raked up again, while around 26,000 others have landed in jail.
Political analysts think BNP should come up with well-thought-out plans and strategies to continue their anti-government movement peacefully by drumming up more public support alongside overhauling the party.