DHAKA: Bangladesh is to have parliamentary elections some 18 months from now, but the country’s main political parties, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Awami League, have started making all-out efforts to outsmart each other.

Apart from making efforts to consolidate their old allies and causing rift in the opposing camps, the two parties are also busy wooing foreign friends in their respective stances on the composition of the non-party caretaker government that takes over as an interim administration to conduct parliamentary polls.

Meanwhile, many people in Dhaka, including foreigners, are apprehending a serious political crisis in Bangladesh before the next elections.

The US ambassador in Dhaka publicly said more than once in the past few weeks that a ‘third party’ might take over if the two main political parties failed to reach a consensus on the contentious issues through dialogue. The ambassador also predicted that the ‘intervention of the third party will not prove good for democracy’.

The main opposition Awami League has been demanding certain changes in the constitutional provisions relating to the composition and power of the caretaker government before the next elections.

The party has recently finalized its caretaker government reforms proposal, circulated the documents among the ‘like minded’ parties in the opposition to forge a broad-based, anti-government alliance on the basis of the proposals.

The party has also announced that it will not take part in the next polls if the BNP-led governing alliance does not amend the constitution in line with the opposition demand.

Besides, the League leaders have reportedly been pursuing the foreign missions in Dhaka, particularly those of the United States and the European Union, to pressure the government into accepting its demand.

The League wants to curb president’s authority to appoint the ministers of the caretaker government.