Bangladeshi students who led protests launch new party

DHAKA: Bangladeshi students who played a key role in overthrowing the government last year have announced a new political party, the latest grouping in heated political jostling ahead of expected elections.

The new Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad, or Democratic Student Council, includes key organisers from the powerful Students Against Discrimination (SAD) group that spearheaded the uprising that overthrew iron-fisted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August.

Politics in Bangladesh are notoriously fractious and other students then accused them of undermining the revolution.

Disputes over representation led to physical clashes among members of the new group when its name was unveiled on Wednesday.

Other SAD leaders – including members who were included in the interim government that took over after Hasina fled to India — are expected to launch another separate party on Friday.

The Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad also includes students formerly allied to the youth wing of Hasina’s Awami League.

“While accommodating students from the Awami League, we ensured that none of them were involved in mass murder or torture during the revolution,” Zahid Ahsan, a leader of the new group, told AFP.

“We are dedicated to protecting student rights,” he said, adding they wanted to “uphold the spirit” of the mass movement that rallied to end Hasina’s autocratic grip.

Hasina, who remains in self-imposed exile in India, has defied an arrest warrant from Dhaka to face charges that include accusations of crimes against humanity.

More than 150 people were injured in clashes between rival student groups this month.

Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Prize-winning microfinance pioneer who heads the caretaker government, has said that general elections will take place in late 2025 or early 2026.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Hasina’s long-time opponent, is widely expected to dominate the elections.