Bangladesh’s interim government headed by Nobel Laureate Mohammed Yunus is facing a growing challenge by leading political parties who have opposed his plans to delay parliament polls.

Backed by student agitators and radical Islamist parties who installed Yunus after ousting the Awami League government, the Nobel laureate has said he needs time to push through reforms he considers ” esserntial for the future of democracy ” in Bangladesh.

But both the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party ( BNP) have said reforms is best left to an elected government.

Sensing a clear chance of winning the parliament elections if it is held soon, the BNP leadership is now at loggerheads with Yunus, the students leaders and the Islamist parties backing him. The BNP clearly want elections within the next few months and are uncomfortable with Yunus pitching for polls in mid-2026 after completing the reforms.

The BNP , like the Awami League, has raised a basic question over Yunus’ locus standi to pursue an agenda for reforms. Its leaders argue that any comprehensive reforms should be carried out by an elected parliament and not an interim government which has a tenuous constitutional basis.

On the other hand, radical parties like the Jamaat-e-Islami with a unconcealed agenda........

© Eurasia Review