He said, “I urge the authorities to arrange for Ishraque Hossain, who has been declared by the court as the mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation, to be sworn in without delay, preferably today or tomorrow. Otherwise, we may be compelled to organise a larger demonstration in Dhaka over this issue.”
On 17 May, Ishraque’s supporters locked all the gates of Nagar Bhaban. They have been staging continuous protests since then. In response, NCP leaders said they brought forward their demands for restructuring the Election Commission and holding early local government elections.
Meanwhile, BNP leaders suspect that several groups both within and outside the government are trying to delay the national elections. They believe the NCP is also involved in this effort. Therefore, BNP has adopted a strategy to pressure both the government and the NCP using the Ishraque issue as leverage.
Commenting on the situation, political writer and researcher Mohiuddin Ahmed told Prothom Alo that if the BNP had announced any programme during Sheikh Hasina’s tenure, the Awami League would have responded with a counter-programme. “Looking at the current situation, it seems that the confrontation that used to exist between the Awami League and BNP has now shifted to the BNP and NCP. Both parties are trying to show their strength on the streets. But the political parties are not concerned about the suffering this is causing to ordinary people.”