Opposition coalition Jatiya Oikya Front has pushed back its ‘national dialogue’ for fresh elections to Feb 6 from Jan 28.
The decision came on Thursday (Jan 17) after a nearly five-hour-long meeting of its policymaking Steering Committee at the Motijheel offices of the alliance’s chief and Gano Forum President Dr Kamal Hossain.
“The people of the country were not able to take part in the Dec 30 polls. Oikya Front will carry on its movement for a fresh election,” Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal chief ASM Abdur Rab told the media after the meeting.
He said that the coalition was considering programmes, like mass petition and sit-in protests, to engage the people in their movement.
Representatives from the coalition’s largest member, the BNP did not attend the meeting.
Oikya Front insiders said that the BNP leaders, who sit on the Oikya Front Steering Committee, could not attending due as the party had two of its own meetings scheduled for Thursday.
According to them, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam did not attend due to ‘health reasons’ while National Standing Committee member Muyeen Khan arrived late for traffic.
After winning the 11th National Election, the Awami League has formed the government for a third straight term. Meanwhile, the Oikya Front, which only won eight seats in the election, has refused to engage in parliament and called for an immediate new election.

On Jan 10, its leader Dr Kamal Hossain announced the national dialogue to press for demands.
Its Steering Committee member Zafrullah Chowdhury, who leads a pro-BNP professionals’ group, told Bangla Tribune on Wednesday (Jan 16) that it was initially decided that the dialogue would be held on Jan 28.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Gano Forum General Secretary Mostofa Mohsin Montu said that the political parties, who contested the 11th national election, would be invited to the talks.
The coalition, however, made it clear that it’s not inviting BNP’s longtime ally Jamaat-e-Islami.
“Jamaat-e-Islami was never a part of the coalition,” Nagorik Oikya convener Mahmudur Rahman Manna told the media.
The statement comes five days after, Kamal Hossain, who leads the Oikya Front as its convener, said he would mount pressure on the BNP to shun Jamaat, when he admitted that fielding its member as candidates in the election was a mistake.