14-party partners trying to resume activities 

The Awami League led 14 -party alliance, once a dominant political coalition in Bangladesh, now faces an uncertain future as its partners cautiously attempt to regain political footing after the dramatic collapse of the former ruling order. After one and a half years, they are now dreaming of resuming political activities in a "new Bangladesh" under the political government.

Following the mass uprising that forced former prime minister Sheikh Hasina from power on August 5, 2024, the political activities of the Bangladesh Awami League were effectively halted. In the absence of its central force and amid mounting legal pressure, the smaller parties of the alliance are struggling to revive their political presence while navigating arrests, lawsuits and an altered political landscape.

The coalition itself emerged in the turbulent political environment of 2004. After the 21 August 2004 grenade attack on an Awami League rally in Dhaka during the BNP Jamaat government, the Awami League formed a broad opposition platform based on a 23- point programme. Built on the ideals of the Liberation War, democracy and non- communal politics, the alliance became known as the 14- party coalition, although in reality it comprised twelve parties.

Besides the Awami League, the alliance included the Workers Party of Bangladesh, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, National Awami Party, Ganatantri Party, Jatiya Party, Bangladesh Samyabadi Dal, Tarikat Federation, Communist Centre, Gana Azadi League, Ganatantrik Mazdoor Party and Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal.

After years of agitation against the BNP Jamaat government, the alliance reached power through the grand alliance victory in the 2008 parliamentary election held under a military backed caretaker government. The coalition led by the Awami League secured 262 seats and formed the government, with several partners joining the cabinet. Over time, however, the ruling party gradually reduced space for its allies. In the twelfth parliamentary election the Awami League agreed to allocate only six seats to the alliance. 

The political structure collapsed with the uprising of August 2024 that toppled the Awami League government. The situation intensified when the Public Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notification on May 12, 2025 suspending all activities of the Awami League and its affiliated bodies until completion of trials at the International Crimes Tribunal.

In the new political climate, demands were raised to ban the allied parties as collaborators of authoritarian rule. Some political groups including the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami organised protests calling for legal action against them, and lawyer notices were sent to the authorities including the Election Commission seeking to declare the parties terrorist organisations.

Legal cases and arrests soon followed. Workers Party president Rashed Khan Menon and JSD president Hasanul Haque Inu were arrested and remain in prison, while alliance coordinator and Awami League advisory council member Amir Hossain Amu was also detained. Workers Party general secretary Fazle Hossain Badsha left the country and is believed to be in India facing multiple cases. Cases were also filed against leaders including Anwar Hossain Manju, Dilip Barua and Najibul Bashar Maizbhandari.

Many party offices across the country were attacked, vandalised or occupied, forcing leaders and activists into hiding. A Workers Party leader said on condition of anonymity, "There was no legal obstacle to us holding elections. But if someone is asked to swim with his hands and feet tied, how will he swim? Everyone knows how we have spent the last eighteen months. It is difficult to survive in such adversities."

A JSD leader echoed the same concern. "There was no legal obstacle for our party to participate in the elections. But the leaders did not dare to become candidates. There was also a fear of what would happen if they participated in the elections."

Although there was no formal legal restriction on the smaller alliance partners, none of them contested the parliamentary election held on February 12. The Jatiya Party attempted to remain politically active but soon faced internal divisions. The party split into factions led by GM Quader and Anisul Islam Mahmud. The Quader faction contested 196 constituencies in the 13th parliamentary election but failed to win a single seat.

Despite the crisis, some parties have begun limited efforts to maintain organisational existence. The Workers Party and JSD are issuing statements, holding small internal meetings and occasionally organising symbolic programmes. Acting general secretary Nur Ahmed Bakul said, "We are sitting in our party office as needed and holding various programmes."

Meanwhile, the political environment shifted again after the landslide victory of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party- led alliance in the thirteenth parliamentary election. BNP chairman Tarique Rahman returned to Bangladesh on December 25 after seventeen years of exile and pledged to build an inclusive political order.

His call for an "inclusive Bangladesh" and emphasis on ending the politics of revenge have generated cautious optimism among activists of the former ruling alliance. A central leader of the Workers Party said, "Many problems have gone, but now the situation is a little better. The political government has come to power." 

"Hopefully we will be able to hold political programmes again and start activities after the Eid," he added.

For the smaller parties of the once powerful alliance, the immediate task now is political survival. Whether the fractured coalition can reorganise itself in the evolving political order remains an open question.