Bangladesh’s left fragmented by conflicts over ideology and leadership

Bangladesh’s leftist politics has a history of movements, struggles and sacrifices. It also has a distinct political legacy when it comes to ideological questions. However, on the other side of this history lies a long shadow of divisions, splits and organizational weakness. New parties have emerged after one party broke apart. Those parties later split into multiple factions. Many parties also disappeared from the political scene after remaining active for only a few years.

Leftist politics once attracted a significant section of young people and played an important role in street movements. Over time, however, it has lost that influence and popular support. Many parties now maintain their activities within a limited organizational scope. The major question is whether leftist parties can overcome longstanding ideological disputes, leadership crises and weak political strategies to build a genuine mass base by reconnecting with the people.

A major division emerged in Bangladesh’s leftist politics in the 1960s over the ideological dispute between China and the Soviet Union. After independence, a section of the pro Moscow Communist parties joined the Awami League led BAKSAL. This damaged their independent political position. Meanwhile, the pro China parties became weakened by internal disputes and repeated splits.

The leftist parties again had an opportunity to establish an independent position during the anti Ershad movement. However, the collapse of the Soviet Union dealt another major blow. Many top leaders left. A section of activists became inactive while some joined the Awami League and BNP.

One of the country’s oldest political parties is the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB). The party began its journey on March 6, 1948, as the Communist Party of East Pakistan. After independence, its name was changed to the Communist Party of Bangladesh in 1973.

The party’s leaders and activists played roles in the anti British movement, the Tanka movement and the Liberation War. However, the party faced criticism over joining BAKSAL and later participating in initiatives of different governments.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the party faced a crisis when a large section including its president and general secretary left. Ahead of the party’s 12th Congress in 2022, concerns emerged over another split. However, the party ultimately avoided a major breakaway. Internal disputes and their effects remain within different mass organizations including the Chhatra Union and Trade Union Centre.

The Bangladesh Samyabadi Dal entered open politics in 1976 under the leadership of Mohammad Toaha. Separate factions emerged during Toaha’s lifetime under the leadership of Asaddar Ali, Khondaker Ali Abbas and Dilip Barua. Several more factions were formed later.

The faction led by Dilip Barua later joined the Awami League led government and he also served as a minister. He has rarely been seen in public since the 2024 mass uprising. The party also has no visible activities.

The Bangladesh Workers Party was formed through efforts to unite various pro China leftist organizations. Amal Sen, Rashed Khan Menon and Haider Akbar Khan Rono were among its important leaders.

Later, Kazi Zafar Ahmed broke away and formed the United People’s Party. The Workers Party also experienced divisions. Menon and Rono eventually followed separate political paths. Rono later joined the CPB.

The Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh emerged from the Workers Party. Rashed Khan Menon later formed an alliance with the Awami League and became a member of parliament and minister. He is currently in jail in connection with several cases.

Among the left leaning parties that have faced the most splits is the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, or JSD. The party was formed on October 31, 1972, with the slogan of “scientific socialism.”

After independence, a large section of students and young people moved toward JSD and the party quickly became a major political force. Following disagreements over its relationship with the government, armed politics and participation in elections, among other issues, the Bangladesh Socialist Party, or BASAD, was formed in 1980 after breaking away from JSD.

JSD later split several more times. Separate factions emerged under the leadership of A S M Abdur Rab, Shahjahan Siraj and Hasanul Haq Inu. Different factions of JSD later joined the Awami League led alliance and government.

President Hasanul Haq Inu is in jail while the general secretary is in hiding.

BASAD, which was formed in 1980 after breaking away from JSD, also did not remain united. A separate faction emerged under the leadership of A F M Mahbubul Haque. More divisions followed.

In 2013, the Socialist Party of Bangladesh, Marxist was formed after breaking away from BASAD.

Although it was not a Communist Party, the National Awami Party, or NAP, was an important force in leftist politics. The party was formed in 1957 under the leadership of Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani.

Influenced by the China Soviet dispute, NAP split in the 1960s into NAP Bhashani and NAP Mozaffar. After independence, NAP Mozaffar was once a major political force and was the main rival of the Awami League in many constituencies in the 1973 election.

Later, however, the party’s political and organizational influence declined.

Beyond the major parties, there were many leftist organizations including the Bangladesh Workers Party, Janamukti Party, Bangla Communist Party, Democratic Workers Camp, Bangladesh Communist Workers Union and Adi Samyabadi Dal.

Some were active in limited areas while others survived around a handful of leaders and activists. Over time, most of these parties disappeared from the political scene.

What are the reasons behind the splits?

Khalequzzaman, an adviser to the Socialist Party of Bangladesh, BASAD, attributes the prolonged divisions in leftist politics not only to ideological disputes but also to weaknesses in leadership and political strategy.

According to him, as internal disputes within the Communist movement intensified in the 1960s, a nationalist political trend led by the Awami League came to the forefront. The division among leftists weakened their progressive political role.

Khalequzzaman said divisions among leftist parties are not inherently a problem. If the right political position is developed through ideological debate, divisions can also contribute to the development of a movement. However, in Bangladesh, such debates often failed to lead to correct political decisions.

He said compromises by some leftist leaders with bourgeois politics and a lack of timely programs also weakened the movement.

Referring to the recent mass uprising, he said a large section of students and young people participated in it. However, after the uprising, a section of them entered politics centered on power and positions. They failed to establish the expected connection with workers, farmers and ordinary people. He said the weakness of the leftists was also a factor in this regard.

Nurul Ahmed Bokul, a veteran leader of the Bangladesh Workers Party and acting general secretary of its Central Committee, also blamed wrong political strategies for the current crisis in leftist politics.

According to him, leftism is fundamentally the politics of the rights and liberation of ordinary people. Leftists also played an important role in various mass movements in Bangladesh’s history.

However, ideological divisions in the 1960s and 1970s, the influence of the Naxalite movement and different positions on the Liberation War weakened leftist politics.

He said that during the Liberation War, one section of the leftist parties supported the war while some took Pakistan’s position. Others rejected both sides. He said there was no question about the sacrifice or ideological commitment of the leaders and activists. However, their political positions were wrong.

Similar mistakes were also seen after independence.

However, Nurul Ahmed Bokul considers the anti Ershad movement a major success of leftist politics. According to him, during the prolonged movement, multiple platforms were formed involving people from different professions and social groups including workers and employees, students, lawyers and women.

Leftists led these initiatives and also played an important role in the 1990 mass uprising.

However, leftist parties failed to turn the political potential of that movement into an organized force in the following years.

According to Bokul, the biggest challenge facing leftist politics now is to rebuild its independent political identity and its relationship with the people.

If leftists become part of a major party’s power structure through an alliance and their political behavior also reflects that party, they will have no distinct position in the eyes of ordinary people.

Therefore, he said, they must learn from past mistakes and the politics of division and determine a new political strategy through self criticism.