Telegram Turmoil: Awami League Grapples with Surveillance and Strategy Amid Exile
As August 5 approaches, marking one year since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India, the embattled Awami League is reportedly mired in a web of internal challenges, surveillance fears, and financial irregularities, according to senior party insiders who spoke to News18.
Although the party’s ban did not come as a complete surprise to many of its leaders, what did leave them stunned was the infiltration of intelligence agents into the party’s fundraising Telegram groups—some of which reportedly host over 20,000 to 30,000 members. These virtual spaces have emerged as the party’s key platforms for political organization, with nightly meetings stretching from 9 PM to midnight, often attended by central leaders, former MPs, and local activists.
Sources within the party claim that Sheikh Hasina herself occasionally joins these sessions, but the opportunity to speak with her has allegedly become a monetized affair. “Access to her during these virtual meetings is being sold,” one source told News18, pointing fingers at Obaidul Quader, the party’s General Secretary, for facilitating the transactions.
“Obaidul Quader has essentially turned Telegram into his main political stage,” another insider said. “He regularly makes aggressive calls such as ‘siege Dhaka’, but there’s no clarity on how, when, or through what means these will be executed.”
According to several party sources, Obaidul Quader also dictates the schedule of his own speeches in various Telegram groups—an action some interpret as tactical maneuvering, while others see it as a sign of political desperation.
A senior Awami League leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, told News18, “The workers have rejected Obaidul Quader. These Telegram groups are not about organizing for the party’s good. They’re about money-making schemes.”
The leader further alleged that Quader was using Telegram meetings with Hasina as a pretext to extract money from senior party leaders, MPs, and former ministers.
However, the most alarming concern for the party leadership—including Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Hasan Mahmud, Mohammad A. Arafat, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel—is the infiltration of pro-Dr. Yunus intelligence officers into these very Telegram groups. According to the insiders, this marks the first time they’ve had to contend not just with infiltration from BNP or Jamaat activists but also from intelligence operatives loyal to Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus.
“These infiltrators are allegedly recording conversations in the groups, later using them to identify and arrest participants,” one insider explained. “We first noticed something was wrong when known groups like ‘Dhanmondi 32’ began to host open criticism of central leadership,” he said, referring to a group named after the residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. “But once arrests began based on discussions in the group, we realized the problem ran deeper than expected.”
To counter this breach, Sheikh Hasina has reportedly called for an overhaul in leadership and a shift in strategy. “She doesn’t want the party reduced to keyboard warriors,” one source said. Following recent leaks on the dark web and black-market data trades, Awami League members have been instructed to use VPNs when accessing Telegram.
Though the next general election in Bangladesh is scheduled for 2026, the Awami League remains banned. Nonetheless, the party believes it is now entering the “second phase”—moving from digital activism to physical mobilization.
“We’ve waited a year,” said one party official. “Now Awami League wants to fight for the people. Soon we will form resistance committees in every district and metropolitan area, consisting of divisional organizers, joint general secretaries, and central committee members.”
