Why the Jamaat Chief calls for a special parliament session
Jamaat Chief and Opposition Leader Shafiqur Rahman has asked the acting president to convene a special parliamentary session over Bangladesh's power and energy crisis. The demand comes as Jamaat and its 11-party alliance seek to turn fuel prices, electricity shortages, gas supply and utility bills into a wider campaign against the government.
In a Nutshell:
- Jamaat Ameer Shafiqur Rahman has said that persistent load shedding is making life harder for households while disrupting factories, businesses, and trade, and adding pressure on essential goods prices.
- At its August 6 Paltan sit-in, the 11-party alliance demanded refunds for excess electricity charges, suspension of gas bills where supply is absent, action against system losses and an investigation into the Maheshkhali LNG failure.
- At the sit-in programme, the party-11 alliance announced a series of long marches: 5 September Dhaka–Chattogram long march, 19 September Dhaka–Rangpur long march and roadside rallies, 10 October Dhaka–Khulna–Jessore–Kushtia–Dhaka long march, 24 October Dhaka–Sylhet rail journey, and a Dhaka grand rally on 14 November.
- Both Maheshkhali FSRUs are operating again, but combined LNG send out is expected to remain at 750 to 800 mmcfd, about 70% of their 1,100 mmcfd capacity, for at least a week.
- Gas supply is expected to remain at 2,380-2,430 mmcfd, against a demand of about 3,800 mmcfd.
Why it matters
The Party-11 alliance is building a political campaign around the part of the energy crisis that people feel most directly: paying higher fuel costs, the unavailability of CNGs, suffering from loadshedding, and the resulting disruptions to work and goods production. That gives the alliance a way to present itself as the voice of households and lower-income consumers, while also taking the message from parliamentary politics into nationwide marches. The timing also helps their cause as Maheshkhali has resumed operations without restoring normal gas availability, keeping the hardship visible even after the immediate terminal failure has eased.
What we think
The political opportunity for the 11-party alliance is clear: they are appealing to the average citizen with a common-man narrative. But that should not and cannot be mistaken for a full, accurate diagnosis of the energy problem. Bangladesh was already supplying only 2,650 mmcfd against a demand of 3,800 mmcfd before the recent disruptions, while 82 of 143 power plants were shut or operating below capacity due to fuel shortages or maintenance. Imported LNG has supplied about 30 percent of Bangladesh’s gas needs since 2018, helping replace declining domestic reserves, but imports have still failed to keep pace with rising demand. BNP's real vulnerability shows how it will address a pre-existing gas deficit and a power system also hit by coal shortages, equipment problems and maintenance, rather than relying on terminal repairs to demonstrate that the crisis is under control.