There are moments in political history when ambition disguises itself as reform. It speaks the language of stability, of cleansing the system, of rescuing democracy from its own excesses. Yet beneath that polished rhetoric often lies something far less noble: the calculated removal of rivals to secure power without contest. Bangladesh, it seems, may be approaching such a moment again.

The recent remarks by Asif Mahmoud Shojib Bhuiyan hint at the re-emergence of an old but dangerous idea—the so-called “minus-two” formula, a concept rooted in the belief that the country’s political future can only be secured by removing its two dominant forces: the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). It is a theory that has surfaced before, most notably during the caretaker government era of 2007–08, and it failed then for a simple reason: politics abhors a vacuum.

Yet what makes the current iteration more troubling is the alleged quiet orchestration behind it—an effort that, if the claims hold weight, extends beyond Bangladesh’s borders and into the murky interplay of international influence, lobbying, and covert alignment.

At the center of these allegations stands Muhammad Yunus, a figure globally celebrated for his contributions to microfinance, but increasingly viewed within domestic political circles as a power monger or mercenary of foreign actors. The claim is not merely that Yunus seeks political relevance. That, in itself, would be neither surprising nor unprecedented. Rather, it is that he is attempting to reshape the political landscape in such a way that his emergence becomes not just possible, but inevitable.

History offers a cautionary tale here. External backing has often........

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