Bangladesh's former military ruler H M Ershad on Tuesday supported the idea of a future coalition government in the country and said that he was hopeful of the opposition alliance coming to power. ''70 per cent of the people of the country remain with us and inshallah (god willing), we will be able to form a coalition government in the next general elections,” he said at his party meet. Ershad's main faction of the Jatiya Party (JP) is an opposition alliance member along with main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the fundamentalist Jammate-e-Islami and the rightwing Islami Oikkya Jote.
The opposition is campaigning to force Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to step down and call early elections. Parliamentary elections are due next year.
Accusing the Awami League of failing to run the government, Ershad said that the league betrayed JP after coming to power by giving a ministerial berth to Anwar Hossain Manju, a former party leader. Ershad, who switched his party's support from Awami League to BNP-led opposition last year, termed his renegade party leaders Manju and former Prime Minister Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury as 'betrayors and conspirators'. Bureau Report