Dr. Muhammad Yunus planned to propose a political party in Bangladesh called Nagorik Shakti

 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus planned to propose a political party in Bangladesh called Nagorik Shakti on 17 February 2007 during the 11th government.

At that time, he wrote three open letters to the citizens in the newspaper ‘The Daily Star’ expressing his ideas and seeking their opinions. He canceled his initiative within a few days due to the lack of interested and qualified candidates.

Originally part of the political crisis in Bangladesh that had been ongoing in 2006, 2007 and 2008, most of the top politicians, including former Prime Ministers Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina, were imprisoned on corruption charges after the military intervention in January 2007.

In early 2006, Yunus, along with Professor Rehman Sobhan, former Chief Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman, jurist Kamal Hossain, Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman, Daily Star editor Mahfuz Anam and economist Debapriya Bhattacharya, participated in a campaign along with other members of civil society. He was considering entering politics later that year to field honest and clean candidates in the national elections.

In his first open letter published in the Daily Star, he wrote:

He wants to know the views of the citizens on the plan to form a political party with the aim of establishing political goodwill, good leadership and good governance. In the letter, he urged everyone to briefly outline how this work should be done and how they could contribute to it.

Then, on 18 February 2007, Muhammad Yunus announced the establishment of a new party called 'Citizen Power'.

In the second letter, he wrote:

Mentioning his interest in joining politics, the letter presented the party's foundation and principles, a detailed organizational structure for the grassroots level of the party, as well as addressing women, youth and expatriates.

In this letter, the slogan "Bangladesh Ayedha Chalo" was announced as the main theme of the movement.

The party's main goal was to restore a secular constitution, empower women, and achieve results in the fight against poverty and corruption.

The letter promised to appoint qualified leaders committed to good governance and accountability.

Dr. Yunus wanted to make Bangladesh an economic checkpoint in South Asia by opening up Bangladesh's seaports and establishing global relations.

The party, called Nagorik Shakti, intended to contest 300 seats in the 2008 parliamentary elections.

Since its inception, the party, called Nagorik Shakti, has created quite a stir in political circles. Although many political leaders initially kept their mouths shut, some have expressed bitterness towards the party.

Later, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed her displeasure over Yunus' entry into politics, saying that newcomers to politics are dangerous and are viewed with suspicion, and that they often do more harm to the nation than good.

The then leader of the Islamic Unity Alliance, Fazlul Haque Amini, harshly criticized Muhammad Yunus and said, "Dr. Yunus is an enemy of the country, nation and Islam."

Then, in his third letter dated May 3, 2007, he said-

Dr. Yunus announced that he had decided to abandon his political plans after a meeting with the then caretaker Prime Minister Fakhruddin Ahmed.

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