DHAKA — Bangladesh’s major political parties gathered supporters on the streets of Dhaka on Saturday, with scattered violence raising tensions ahead of an expected election.

The top opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and its former ally, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami sought to hold “grand rallies” to push their single demand: the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government. They insist she should step aside for an impartial caretaker administration to oversee polls due in January.

Hasina’s ruling Bangladesh Awami League, which has already refused that demand, called its own “peace rally” the same day, not far from the opposition gatherings. This sparked concern about the risk of fights breaking out, and indeed, some BNP activists clashed with ruling party rivals and police.

At around 2:30 p.m., hundreds of police converged on the BNP’s rally and broke it up, sending members scattering.

Saturday’s events echoed a grim historical precedent: On the same day, Oct. 28, in 2006, an eruption of political violence left over a dozen dead and created a rupture still felt in Bangladeshi politics today.

Bangladesh’s elections and criticism of the Awami League’s tactics for retaining power have become a thorn in the side of the country’s crucial relationship with the U.S. After accusations of manipulation marred previous polls, Washington has ramped up pressure to ensure fairness — slapping visa restrictions on those who undermine the democratic process.

“Unfortunately, the situation seems to be heading toward a confrontation between the [Bangladesh] government and the opposition,” Ali Riaz, a distinguished professor of politics and government at Illinois State University in the U.S., said ahead of the rallies.

“I sense some worry and concerns within the ruling party, but its leaders are taking a belligerent posture, hoping that it will keep its supporters morale high and scare the opposition. The opposition, on the other hand, is feeling bolstered by growing support among citizens. A de facto consensus has emerged among all opposition that there is no way to participate in an election under the present government.”

Police try to disperse opposition protesters who were demanding a neutral caretaker government for elections.   © Reuters

Dhaka police on Friday had granted the BNP and Awami League permission to hold their gatherings. But the BNP said it was facing repression in other ways.

The BNP insisted on holding its rally in front of its headquarters in the Nayapaltan area, with or without permission. Last December, the police had forced the party to shift a rally elsewhere, cordoning off the office for days and arresting top leaders including General Secretary Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

The police this time relented on the location, but on Friday officers installed about 60 cameras near the office to monitor activists and “maintain security.”

BNP officials alleged that hundreds of party leaders and members were arrested in the past few days as they attempted to head to Dhaka to join the event, while some transport services were curtailed. The party said the goal was to “create panic among the activists.”

“Police have arrested nearly 1,700 during the last four days,” alleged Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed, a senior joint secretary general of the BNP, on Friday night.

In the early hours of Saturday, police said they arrested around 200 BNP activists at a building near the party headquarters, owned by a leader. Detective branch chief Harun Ur Rashid alleged to reporters that the activists had been planning sabotage and that officers had uncovered weapons including small bombs.

The tensions escalated sharply as crowds gathered Saturday afternoon. Live footage shown on Facebook by local media appeared to show that BNP activists set fire to a number of vehicles and a police box not far from their rally area. At one point, protesters reportedly attacked the residence of the chief justice, hurling objects inside.

Police used stun grenades and tear gas to disperse the BNP crowd. Sporadic fights continued around the capital, with the paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh called in to help put down the protests.

Local media reports said that at least one police officer had died while scores of BNP supporters were injured. Many journalists were also reportedly hurt, some seriously.

In response to their rally being quashed, the BNP has called a day-long nationwide strike for Sunday.

While the opposition complains of unfair treatment, Prime Minister Hasina regularly denies allegations of authoritarianism. In an interview with Nikkei Asia earlier this year, she insisted she is “here to protect democracy.”

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addresses the EU Global Gateway Forum in Brussels on Oct. 25, days before planned political rallies in Dhaka.   © Reuters

Professor Riaz said the decision to allow the BNP rally at all marked a shift in government strategy, not a compromise. “The government understands that the world is watching,” he said.

He added that while the U.S. visa restrictions have “created some hesitation and unease among higher echelons of the civil service and law enforcement agencies, the political leaders who call the shots are getting desperate.”

As for Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, it did not receive clearance to hold a rally, but on Friday declared it would go ahead anyway in Motijheel, the capital’s commercial district. The party’s acting head, Mujibur Rahman, said in a statement, “I urge all to join the grand rally on Saturday to force the government to hold the election under a neutral government.”

Jamaat ended up gathering supporters in a nearby area, apparently with tacit approval from the authorities.

The Islamist party remains controversial due to its conduct during the war of independence in 1971, when it was involved with Pakistani forces and allegedly committed war crimes.

The historical significance of Oct. 28 is lost on no one in Bangladesh.

On this day in 2006, the BNP was in power and the Awami League was opposing the selection of Justice K. M. Hassan to lead a non-partisan caretaker government. Awami League activists fought with members of the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and police in the Purana Paltan area of Dhaka as well as in the countryside. At least 13 people were killed.

In the aftermath, the military intervened, declared an emergency and formed an army-backed caretaker government. Leaders from both the Awami League and BNP were jailed, Sheikh Hasina and BNP chair Begum Khaleda Zia were placed under house arrest, and scores of legal cases were filed against politicians.

The caretaker government remained in power for two years, up until the 2008 election that elevated the Awami League to power. The party has ruled the country ever since.

Riaz argued that the call for a neutral caretaker administration and a free election is not just an opposition demand but a popular one, citing opinion polls. “If the ruling party does not heed to it, it’s an unequivocal statement of the ruling party that it doesn’t care what people want,” he said.

Dialogue between the opposition and ruling party is essential, he said. “Let’s hope good sense will prevail. The alternative is not affordable.”