The penchant of the president-cum-chief adviser to the caretaker government (CG) for keeping the council of advisers in the dark on crucial issues is making the present political crisis more complex, which might push the country towards confrontations, many former advisers to caretaker governments fear.

The chief adviser (CA) will possibly sit with other advisers of the council on Monday, but so far he did not show any interest for discussing possible reconstitution of the Election Commission (EC) with them even after they had held dialogues on the issue with political parties, sources said.

The delegation of advisers, tasked with holding the dialogues, however tried to have meetings with the CA several times, the sources added.

Meanwhile, BNP-led four-party alliance is taking preparations for participating in the next election without 14-party coalition, BNP sources said.

The EC is also preparing to announce the election schedule, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) MA Aziz said on Thursday.

"The activities of the president are highly questionable and ill-intentioned. He is working under the direction of some quarters as there is a huge gap in communication between him and his advisers," Hafiz Uddin Khan, former adviser to a caretaker government, told The Daily Star yesterday.

"The crisis will deepen if the election schedule is declared before solving the present political impasse," he said adding that everyone except four-party alliance want to see a reconstituted EC.

"The caretaker government shouldn't do anything which could create misunderstandings. Electoral reforms should be its highest priority. It will also have to accomplish a lot of other tasks like illegal arms recovery and preparing a voter roll," said ASM Shahjahan, another former adviser to a caretaker government.

"I know all the advisers are interested to hold an acceptable election, so they should tell the chief adviser that there is no time to waste," he said.

Sources said the delegation of advisers led by Dr Akbar Ali Khan, which had held dialogues with political parties, already prepared its recommendations for resolving the crisis but the president surprisingly did not agree to meet them in the last two days. He however, on Thursday met the controversial CEC and three other commissioners to discuss the preparation for the next general election, without any prior discussion with the advisory council.

"The chief adviser knows our views. Already a few steps have been taken regarding some issues following our recommendations," Yasmeen Murshed, an adviser to the caretaker government told a TV channel yesterday. She however said, "We hope to receive directions from the president by tomorrow or Sunday."

In a sudden move, advisers Dhiraj Kumar Nath and Sufia Rahman met the president last night and discussed some administrative issues.

"The government plans to change the deputy commissioners (DCs), thana nirbahi officers (TNOs), and police officers soon," Dhiraj Kumar Nath told reporters after having a two-hour long meeting with the chief adviser.

In reply to a question he said, "I am hopeful that you will see the development soon."

Adviser Azizul Haque also met the president earlier yesterday, sources said, but they did not say what was the topic of discussion.

Sources said BNP-led four-party alliance is maintaining heavy pressure on President Iajuddin Ahmed for not to bring any change to the EC.

"The caretaker government has no chance to do anything other than carrying out the routine work of the ministries and helping the Election Commission for holding a free and fair election," BNP Standing Committee Member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain told The Daily Star yesterday, but he did not make any comment when he was asked what the president should do to resolve the present crisis.

"The caretaker government should start preparing for the election from this moment otherwise it might not be able to hold the election on time, which will create a constitutional crisis," Mosharraf, also a former minister, said adding that the CG should not think anything else as the Awami League-led 14-party raised its demands 'just to foil the election'.

Echoing his views MK Anwar, vice-president of BNP, told reporters, "The next election must be held under Justice MA Aziz."

Earlier on Thursday, Ali Ahsan Mujahid, secretary general of Jamaat, met the president and urged him not to meet any demand of 14-party. "It's not the duty of the caretaker government to solve the problems which were not resolved during the regime of an elected government," he told reporters in front of Bangabhaban after the meeting.

But, AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil yesterday once again said, "No election under Justice MA Aziz! If Aziz tries to announce any schedule for the election, that will also be the schedule for his departure."

Meanwhile, in the face of the 14-party's ongoing programme, the BNP high command yesterday decided to stage demonstrations across the country.

The programmes include rallies, marches and sit-ins in different parts of the country.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia asked all leaders and activists of the party to make the programmes a success, sources said.

The logistics of the programmes will be discussed in a joint meeting of different Dhaka city units of BNP today.