BNP MP Demands Merger with Awami League Amidst Political Turmoil

Days after former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave her first public speech in Delhi and promised to return to the country, a Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) MP has demanded the merger of her party with the now-banned Awami League (which Hasina heads). The BNP is the party of Bangladesh's PM Tarique Rahman, formed by Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia. According to a report by Dhaka's Prothom Alo, BNP MP from Sunamganj-2, Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, said that Hasina's Awami League is an ally of the ruling party. However, others in the BNP and the Bangladesh government have expressed different opinions, which are at odds with Chowdhury's views. On Wednesday, 5 August, Sheikh Hasina attended a press conference organised by the Foreign Correspondents'Club of South Asia in Delhi. The event was the former prime minister's first public address in two years and was preceded by a student protest in July 2024. Hasina's party forced the Awami League to take power during the Prime Minister's press conference.