Five months after Sheikh Hasina’s removal, the party is divided. Some leaders won’t apologise, but grassroots Awami League activists want a reckoning.
Dhaka, Bangladesh — On 16 July 2024, while violent protests engulfed the northern district of Rangpur after the killing of student leader Abu Sayeed, a contrasting scene unfolded in Dhaka. At the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Awami League minister Abdur Rahman enjoyed a casual poetry recital, seemingly disconnected from the chaos brewing in the streets.
When informed of the unrest by an aide, Rahman reportedly dismissed the concerns, confident that then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would control the situation. Less than three weeks later, this confidence was shattered. A student-led uprising toppled Hasina’s 16-year leadership on 5 August 2024, forcing her to flee to India. The violent upheaval claimed 834 lives, injured over 20,000, and left the once-dominant Awami League in disarray.
Today, five months after Hasina’s ousting, the party faces its greatest crisis since Bangladesh’s independence in 1971. Internal divisions between unapologetic senior leaders and disillusioned grassroots activists threaten to derail the party’s future. The path to revival looks steep, and whether the Awami League can overcome its self-inflicted wounds remains uncertain.
Aparty at odds with itself
Despite the gravity of the July uprising, many senior Awami League leaders refuse to take responsibility. Joint Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim described the events as part of an “international conspiracy,” without specifying who was to blame. Such rhetoric highlights the leadership’s denial of its failures and its growing detachment from the public, according to political analysts.
This detachment has alienated grassroots activists, many of whom feel abandoned. “I was still on the streets of Khulna with other activists when Hasina fled,” said a former local leader of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the party’s student wing, speaking anonymously. “When I called our local lawmaker for guidance, his phone was switched off. I felt betrayed.”
Following the uprising, BCL was banned by the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. Former BCL leaders now live in hiding, fearful of reprisals. Samiul Bashir, a vocal critic and member of the Bangladesh Krishak League, described how nepotism and cronyism had hollowed out the party’s grassroots structures over the past decade. “Since 2014, opportunists have taken over. Committed activists were sidelined,” he said.
A lack of accountability and democratic practices within the party is also to blame. Many of the Awami League’s grassroots committees in Dhaka, for instance, have operated with outdated leadership, failing to rejuvenate their ranks or connect with public sentiment.
No remorse, no reconciliation
The Awami League has yet to issue an apology or acknowledge its government’s role in the violent suppression of the uprising. Instead, the party’s youth wing dismissed the protests as a “terrorist uprising” orchestrated by opponents seeking to destabilise the country.
This hardline stance has drawn criticism from former party insiders and analysts alike. Tanjim Ahmad Sohel Taj, son of Bangladesh’s first prime minister, Tajuddin Ahmad, condemned the party’s refusal to acknowledge its wrongdoings. “The Awami League must apologise for its corruption, oppression, and plundering of billions,” he said in a television interview.
Analysts argue that public trust in the party eroded as its leadership grew increasingly authoritarian. “Fanatical measures turned Sheikh Hasina’s resignation into the singular demand of the uprising,” said Al Masud Hasanuzzaman, a political scientist at Jahangirnagar University.
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Can the Awami league rebuild?
Sheikh Hasina is no stranger to exile or comebacks. After the assassination of her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in 1975, she lived in India before returning to Bangladesh to rebuild the Awami League in 1981. But this time, the challenges are unprecedented.
Political analyst Ali Riaz identifies four conditions necessary for the Awami League’s revival: issuing an apology for crimes committed during its rule, renouncing its current ideology, ensuring no member of Hasina’s family leads the party again, and reconnecting with the grassroots.
The party faces external challenges too. The interim government has barred the Awami League from participating in the next general election, scheduled for early 2026. Mahfuz Alam, an adviser to the Yunus administration and a leader of the student movement, has demanded the prosecution of Awami League leaders involved in killings and disappearances.
However, Hasanuzzaman argues that the Awami League’s participation in the election is critical to its survival. “Without rebuilding public trust and grassroots connections, a political revival will be extremely difficult,” he said.
The road ahead
The Awami League’s decline has left Bangladesh’s political landscape in flux. The interim government has promised reforms and fair elections, but public trust in political institutions remains low.
For the Awami League, a return to relevance will require introspection, reform, and a willingness to confront its past. Whether the party can rise from the ashes of its defeat—or fade into history—will depend on its ability to navigate this moment of reckoning.
