SUMMARY
BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) is a mainstream right-wing political party in Bangladesh, being one of the two largest parties in Bangladesh, together with the Awami League. Formed in the late 1970s by former president Ziaur Rahman as a vehicle to legitimize his military-dominated regime, BNP is a conservative party with elements of nationalism, economic liberalism and moderate Islamism. It participates in various alliances with Islamic parties.
While the party itself is moderate, its campaigning message is not, focusing typically on virulent attacks against opponents and on highly populist platforms with outlandish promises. Attacks typically include references to large-scale corruption by the Awami League (their main competitor). During at least 2001, when BNP was in an alliance with a number of minor, Islamist parties, the party used religion as a campaign element.
Its campaigning methods have also been violent, a feature of the Bangladeshi electoral landscape, calling upon large strikes and rallies that quickly degenerate into violence against their opponents. Further, while in power, the BNP has been accused of attempting to manipulate the elections originally planned for 2006 through various means, including putting over 12 million inexistent voters on the electoral rolls and extending the mandate of BNP-friendly judges in charge of organizing the electoral process. This triggered violent responses from the opposition that degenerated into large-scale rallies, strikes and demonstrations with frequent clashes between supporters of the BNP and those of the Awami League. This led to spiral of violence that ended only with the suspension of civil rights and the imposition of a state of emergency on 11 January 2007.
The leader of BNP is, since 1981, Khaleda Zia, widow of assassinated Ziaur Rahman. However, the party is not directly responsible for the planning and execution of electoral violence – this was rather a result of the violent campaigning strategies of the party.
Supporters of BNP have been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.
