After the Awami League government fell on August 5 in a bloody mass uprising by students and the public, many of the party's senior and middle-ranking leaders have fled to India. On the other hand, the party's chief deposed dictator Sheikh Hasina is also staying in India. As a result, Awami League leaders are practically running their party activities from India.
Awami League leaders are trying to boost the morale of Awami League workers who are currently inside the country to return to active politics. Some party leaders have said that this effort is being made from abroad.
How many Awami League leaders are there in India? How do they communicate with each other? BBC Bangla has tried to find answers to these questions from Awami League leaders.
Who is where?
A large part of the top leadership of the Awami League fled to India. This is now an 'open secret', that is, everyone knows it - but no one says it openly.
The party's joint secretary, AFM Bahauddin Nasim, was saying, "This cannot exactly be called an escape. We are temporarily hiding for strategic reasons."
A large number of Awami League leaders who are staying in India are in West Bengal. BBC Bangla has learned that apart from Kolkata and its surrounding areas, some are staying in various parts of North Bengal, some in Delhi, and some in Tripura on rent. However, some Awami League leaders are also staying in other countries, including Europe. Some of them came to India after Sheikh Hasina fled on August 5, while others came a few months later.
BBC Bangla has learned from various sources that at least 200 of the first-tier or 'Category 1' leaders live in West Bengal.
This class of leaders includes top party and former government officials and ministers, as well as about 70 members of parliament.
The rest include retired army officers, senior police officers, many district presidents and secretaries of the Awami League, district council chairmen, mayors, and top leaders of Awami League affiliate organizations.
A leader of the A. League was saying, "Most of them are leaders. There are very few female leaders and female workers here. Most of them don't have families here."
In West Bengal, apart from 'Category 1' leaders and government officials, the number of upazila-level presidents-secretaries, juniors and less important Awami League leaders is said to be close to 1,000. Outside India, Awami League leaders are present in various countries around the world, including Europe.
How to leave the country and come to India
Several Awami League leaders have told the BBC in private conversations about who left Bangladesh after the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government and how. However, they did not want to say anything officially about that route.
However, the BBC had already learned from Indian security agencies and intelligence sources that many Awami League leaders had entered India in the days following August 5 through the northern borders of Meghalaya, Tripura and West Bengal.
Border checkpoints in South Bengal like Petrapole and Benapole have been avoided to some extent because those borders are very popular and many people travel through them.
Awami League leader and former MP Pankaj Nath was saying, "I went underground after August 5th. I also switched off my phone. But I was in the country. I left the country in October. I won't say exactly which border I left through. But I had to travel a very difficult path through mountains and forests. I visited a few cities and am now where I am."
Awami League Joint Secretary Bahauddin Nasim, however, left the country on August 10, having been in hiding in the country for a few days before that.
According to him, how long does it take to reach India from anywhere in Bangladesh – eight, nine hours? It took me two days – I left on the 10th and crossed the border on the 11th. I reached the border very secretly. However, there was a fear that someone might recognize me there, so I had to go to another border. There was also the fear that the Indian border guards might not recognize me – if they opened fire while crossing the barbed wire fence!
This is how Awami League leaders have been 'hiding' in India or some other country at various times.
Why in India?
Ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana have been in Delhi since August 5. A Bangladesh Air Force plane flew them to Hindon Air Base on the outskirts of Delhi.
One allegation has always been raised against Sheikh Hasina's government, which has a special relationship with India. So it is somewhat natural that she will first come to India after leaving the country. However, many may not have guessed that she will not go to any other country, but will remain in Delhi for now.
Awami League Joint Secretary Bahauddin Nasim was saying, the leader was forced to come to India out of helplessness. A conspiring, evil force forced her to go to India. Again, India is our closest neighbor and friendly country. It takes very little time to come and live here from our country.
How leaders and workers communicate
The main means of communication for Awami League leaders who are in hiding in India and other countries is now various digital media like WhatsApp and Telegram.
However, those in Kolkata or surrounding areas meet regularly - they visit each other's homes. And communication between workers around the world and in Bangladesh is mainly through digital channels, say several leaders in hiding.
Former Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud told BBC Bangla that in today's digital age, it is not very important who lives where. Digital communication has become so advanced that one can talk to people spread all over the world at the same time.
It is known that he is living in Belgium, but it is not known how he went there from Bangladesh.
Speaking to the leaders in hiding, BBC Bangla has learned that many groups have been created on Facebook, WhatsApp and Telegram to maintain communication at various levels. There are groups at the upazila, district and national levels, at various levels of associate organizations, as well as groups with names unrelated to the Awami League. As Bangladeshi leaders and activists are posting there, various instructions are being given by the leadership in hiding.
Regular 'voice chats' are also held in those groups, where leaders and activists exchange opinions. It is learnt that pictures and videos of the programs recently announced by the Awami League are being regularly shared in those groups, showing how they are being implemented in various areas of Bangladesh.
Some of the leaders in hiding said that information about which Awami League leader was attacked in which area or who was arrested by the police is also given to the groups.
Awami League leader Pankaj Nath, who is in hiding, was saying, "Maybe we are underground, we are forced to keep in touch with the workers through digital means, we have to announce the program on Facebook. But just by announcing the program on Facebook, the legs of the illegal government have started to tremble!"
How to contact Sheikh Hasina?
The few Awami League leaders that BBC Bangla spoke to all said they were in regular contact with former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. However, it is not known whether Sheikh Hasina has met any of them.
Hiding leaders told the BBC that he regularly maintains contact with leaders as well as ordinary workers in Bangladesh.
A leader was saying that if you message Sheikh Hasina through the app, she replies in a timely manner.
She has also been seen coming to Facebook Live at various times. She has also joined various WhatsApp groups and given various instructions or delivered speeches. However, all the speeches Sheikh Hasina has given so far have been in audio. Her video has not been seen since August 5.
