Bangladesh is in the midst of a major crisis, given the political chessboard that exposes changing power dynamics, Jihadist takeover, assertion of the military junta and people left to fend for themselves with the State giving up on governance.

It’s not mere domestic political reconfiguration but a crisis in the making, with both national and regional consequences. At the heart of this narrative lies decline of a figure once championed in Western capitals, Muhammad Yunus, and subdued recalibration of power that tells extensively about where Bangladesh is headed and how the world must understand this transition.

Yunus, once hailed as a Nobel laureate and Grameen Bank microfinance model builder, was long seen as a link with Western liberal values. But in today’s Dhaka, Yunus no longer commands the stature of a unifying reformist and an elderly statesman.

His legal troubles, political marginalisation and increasing distance from the country’s current power centres suggest a systemic and, perhaps, irreversible break from liberal-democratic experiment that he once symbolised.

His estrangement from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), historically the principal opposition to erstwhile ruling Awami League, marks a decisive shift. Yunus even lacks institutional support from security establishments, rendering such alliances practically ineffective.

A recent massive rally titled ‘Rally for Establishing Youth Political Rights’ was held in Dhaka by three BNP-affiliated groups, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, Jubo Dal, and Swechchhasebak Dal as Yunus left for a four-day visit to Japan.

BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman addressed the rally virtually, criticising the Yunus-led government. Days earlier, a BNP delegation demanded an election roadmap by December and urged the interim government to avoid long-term policy decisions, especially on issues like the Rohingya corridor and Chattogram port.

The political gap left after the fall of the Awami League’s unquestionable supremacy has not resulted in democratic transition or realignment of democratic........

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