Five days after left parties floated a new coalition Awami League leader Obaidul Quader has held talks with the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB).

Sources said, the ruling party general secretary went to the CPB offices on Dhaka’s Topkhana Road on Tuesday morning.

He had a meeting with CPB leadership, including President Mujahidul Islam Selim and General Secretary Shah Alam.

It is believed that they discussed the political scenario ahead of the election. CPB chief Selim, however, declined to comment when Bangla Tribune reached him over phone.

A CPB leader, asking not to be named, described the visit as a ‘courtesy call’. “It was kind of all of a sudden. The discussions centred on coalition and the election,” he told Bangla Tribune.

Sources in the ruling Awami League said Tuesday’s meeting was the first of series of meetings with left parties.

Quader is expected to meet Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BaSaD) General Secretary Khalequzzaman within a day or two, they said.

On Jul 18, the CPB, BaSaD, Ganasanghati Andolan and five other left parties announced the formation of coalition styled the ‘Bam Ganatantrik Jote’.

The other parties in the alliance are BaSaD (Marxist), the United Communist League of Bangladesh, Ganatantrik Biplobi Party and Samajtantrik Andolan.