Awami League, allies say they are regrouping under the radar

Activists and grassroots leaders of Awami League and its associated bodies say they are gradually regrouping by holding secret in-person and virtual meetings, ending more than two years of largely isolation.

The growing number of street protests bears testament to this claim, and have encouraged many leaders in-hiding to re-establish communication with colleagues, several leaders from university- and union-level committees have told the BBC Bangla.

They are holding secret meetings at restaurants, and residences, while high-ranking leaders have begun contacting them and providing guidance through videoconferences from exiles in foreign lands.

They have been instructed to ensure utmost secrecy, avoid detection and arrest at all cost, and hold only localised protests for now, said Sheikh Mohammad Naim, a leader from Chhatra League’s Dhaka University unit, in a telephone conversation with a BBC Bangla correspondent.

Although almost all central, district, and upazila-level leaders have avoided public presence since the July-August 2024 political upheaval, main leaders at lower committees and activists remain, either openly or in hiding, in their respective areas, said Manir Hossain Mitul, secretary at Awami League’s committee at Bhagyakul union, Sreepur upazila, Munshiganj.

Some experts and politicians have raised concerns that Awami League's strength and organisational capacity alone may not be instrumental in organising recent flash processions and sabotage attempts.

While holding meetings at undisclosed locations and establishing virtual communications may prove successful, the role of law enforcement agencies in encouraging increasingly stronger street presence has also raised questions.

The morale among law enforcement agencies remain week.  

The main goal of the flash protests is to reorganise, send a positive message to those still in-hiding, revive people’s support, and pave the way for the return of their commander-in-chief Sheikh Hasina from her self-exile in India.

While they did not further elaborate on their strategies and goals, the claims confirm that the banned groups are reorganising, two years after they either fled the country or went into hiding in the face of widespread public fury over massacres and crimes against humanity.

The protests are allegedly increasingly growing violent as well as the activists engage in sabotage acts like throwing crude bombs and setting fire to vehicles and establishments.