During Ramadan, political parties used events to outline potential alliances after the overthrow of the country's authoritarian leader.
At sunset during the Muslim fast of Ramadan, something remarkable happens in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. The streets of this city of more than 10 million people, known for its bustle and suffocating traffic, become quiet and empty.
But for political parties that know the persuasive power of full stomachs, sunset is the time.
Iftar parties, where worshippers break their fast, have been under intense scrutiny until Ramadan ended last week to determine what direction Bangladesh might take after the overthrow of its authoritarian leader last summer.
Who attended which party? Who sat next to whom? In Bangladesh’s political vacuum, the answers to these questions offered clues about how new alliances might form, and even about the direction of shifting geopolitical winds.
To assess the political situation, we invited ourselves to one of them.
The event, organised at a rooftop restaurant by the Gono Odhikar Parishad, was a small party that grew out of an earlier wave of student protests in 2018, which preceded last year's protests that toppled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
