Three months into office, the interim government seems to face a delicate balancing act between the demand of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, which advocates for extensive reforms, and the pressure from different political parties that insist on a concrete timeline to hold the parliamentary elections quickly.

The government, led by Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus, said it is working to ensure meaningful and sustainable reforms in different sectors so that no party or government can turn fascist in future and the nation gets a fair electoral system and good governance.

The work of the reform commissions constituted so far has yet to gain the expected pace while the political parties are showing more interest in quick elections.

BNP Vice-Chairman Mohammad Shahjahan said all political parties want a fair election as early as possible and they expect the government to arrange it.

"During the fascist Awami League government, the entire state system collapsed. When fair elections are not held, thieves and dacoits get an opportunity to exploit people. And that's what happened in Bangladesh. In order to come out of this situation, people's power has to be returned to their hands," he told the Daily Sun.

"Therefore, there's no alternative to arranging an election so that the people can choose their representatives. We hope that the government will hear the voice of the people and keep the commitment they made," he added.

The government first formed six reform commissions on electoral system, police, judiciary, Anti-Corruption Commission, public administration and constitution. Except for the commission formed to reform the constitution, the rest have not yet been fully formed.

Besides, the names of the heads of four more commissions on health, labour rights, women's rights and media reform have been announced but no decision has been made regarding the inclusion of members to give these a complete shape.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Publicity Affairs Secretary and Spokesperson Motiur Rahman Akand said they are not fully satisfied or dissatisfied about the government's three months' performance, but it could speed up its activities a bit.

He said, "The fascist Awami League government ran the country based on some black laws. The interim government must repeal these laws. Simultaneously, it has to announce road maps for both reforms and elections. We think the government has made some progress but it has to expedite the pace of its work."

Motiur said their party understands that the government is facing various tough challenges thrown by different pro-fascist quarters but sees no alternative to their success in arranging an expected election.

Politicians also stressed the importance of taking all political parties into confidence before bringing any reforms.

"This government is neither a revolutionary one nor a regular one. It has to take all political parties into confidence to make its reform initiatives a success. The ousted government damaged some important state institutions. The interim government can rebuild those but it has to understand that their main target should be to arrange a free and fair election," Ruhin Hossain Prince, general secretary of the Communist Party of Bangladesh, said.

According to him, the government should begin initial reforms, collecting reports and recommendations from the commissions but only the elected government will have the capacity to make long-lasting reforms.

Prince also urged the government to focus on curbing inflation and improving the law-and-order situation to bring relief to public life.

Analysts observe that the government's slow-going policy on elections and the indifference of political parties to reforms are increasing the distance between them.

They say the strong presence of the beneficiaries of the ousted autocratic government, the current government's failure in dealing with a few crises and adamant attitude to rewrite the constitution, the President's controversial comments on former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation and the demand for the removal of the President have given pace to the demand for early elections among the parties.

Prof Sabbir Ahmed of the political science department at Dhaka University thinks too much hurry in making reforms will ruin everything.

"The interim government has not stated any time while taking oath. So, it has no binding in this regard. We have to understand that reform initiatives may not work if rushed too much," he told the Daily Sun.

He believes that BNP wants a quick election as any delay in polls may damage its position to people, while Jamaat will have no problem in a late election as it may weaken its opponents and offer it time to reorganise the party that could not operate activities freely during the ousted regime.

"The government may take two more years for implementing reforms before arranging the polls but it would be better if the elections take place in late 2025 or early 2026," Prof Sabbir, who is also the general secretary of Bangladesh Political Science Network, said, adding that a preliminary idea about the deadline of polls may be found by the end of the next month.