Dhaka, Sep 3 : Muhammad Yunus, Chief Advisor to Bangladesh's interim government, warned of conspiracies to derail the next year's national election. He also reaffirmed that polls will be held as scheduled in the first half of February 2026, with power to be handed over to the elected government in the country, local media reported.

Yunus made the remarks on Tuesday evening following a meeting with leaders of seven political parties and the radical Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam at his official residence, Jamuna, in Dhaka.

'Those who do not want the interim government to reach the stage of election will obstruct the process in every possible way,' Chief Advisor's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam quoted Yunus as saying during the meeting, Bangladesh's newspaper The Daily Star reported.

'Their utmost effort will be to foil the election and create such a situation that the election cannot be held. Some signs of these are already visible,' the chief advisor added, cautioning that 'more will follow.' 'We have to be more vigilant,' he told the leaders.

'The election will be held in the first half of February. We will transfer power to an elected government,' Yunus stressed.

Leaders of the political parties including Amar Bangladesh(AB) Party, Ganosamhati Andolan, Gono Odhikar Parishad, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Nagarok Oikya Islami Andolon Bangladesh, Jatiya Gono Front, and radical Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam, attended the meeting.

Following the meeting, AB Party Chairman Mojibur Rahman Monju raised concerns over governance and law enforcement in Bangladesh.

Referring to the recent violent clashes in Chittagong University involving students and locals, Monju said, 'The Chittagong University incident revealed a lack of coordination between the government and law enforcement agencies. Unless this is fixed, doubts about the election will persist.'

'He (Yunus) himself said there is no one in his team with experience in conducting a neutral election. We recommended appointing those with such experience, even on a contractual basis. The chief advisor has said any election is a challenge, and there is no alternative to facing it together,' Monju further added.

Additionally, LDP Secretary General Redwan Ahmed urged that the Yunus administration must ensure neutrality during the upcoming polls.

Earlier this week, Yunus held separate meetings with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the radical Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami, and the National Citizen Party (NCP) at his official residence, amid major differences among the political parties over the timing of the polls and implementation of reforms.

'There is no alternative to election. If anyone thinks of any other alternative, that would be disastrous for the nation,' Press Secretary Alam quoted Yunus as saying.

Reports suggest that both Jamaat and NCP called for the implementation of the July Charter before holding the election, while BNP insisted that the election must take place within the announced timeframe, leaving no room for delay.

Bangladesh has been gripped by uncertainty over the next general elections since the democratically elected government of Awami League, led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was overthrown during violent protests last year.

/IANS