Admittedly, the first round of the "minus two" formula ended in a fiasco. The second round has firmly set in. Truly, the two ladies had enjoyed unhindered freedom since 1991. However, Khaleda Zia enjoyed the luxury of power more, with her last stint in power being an absolute debacle in terms of quality of governance.

Though they played significant roles in dislodging the military dictator Ershad in 1990, these very two ladies and their attitude towards each other have been identified by many as stumbling blocks to our nascent democracy.

Both of them, thus, deserve their share of criticism. However, to single them out is, I think, rough justice. I am sorry to say that such a rating might please many quarters, but the very essence of "truth" suffers in the process. I mean to say that party leaders in both the camps could have dissuaded them from being so despotic. However, they were more focused on ensuring their share of the booty, rather than serving either the country or the party.

However unsavoury it might sound, most of them became champion opportunists at that time, only to curry favour with the party chiefs and their kith and kin. In the current environment, however, some leaders of both the camps are behaving as if they had to suffer a lot at the hands of their chiefs because of their "reformist" attitude. It is unknown to very few that even senior BNP leaders cringed in front of Tarique Rahman to get little favours.

Almost everybody admits the fact that there was gulf of difference between the BNP of 1991-1996 and the BNP of 2001-2006. There is no denying the fact that Mr. Tarique Rahman was largely responsible for BNP's undoing in the last period.

Far from being a leader of some reputation, he became a symbol of corruption. Far from advancing his father's deep-rooted position in Bangladesh's politics, he committed a sort of patricide by putting his father's party's political legacy on the line.

Unfortunately, young people who had their visions tainted by the glamour of money flanked Tarique. They constantly exploited him, and contributed to his play with many sectors of the country.

However, the veterans in the BNP did not play a positive role either. They used Tarique's passion for money to the greatest possible extent, instead of making any move for correcting him.

Where was their sense of dignity then? Could they really not have survived without Tarique's mercy? I cannot remember anything that these leaders resorted to, to prevent Tarique from going down the drain.

I need to make it categorical that my proposition is not to absolve Tarique and co. from the sins they committed against the nation. Similarly, senior leaders of AL were afraid of speaking the truth before Hasina for fear of losing their positions.

Many such leaders in both the camps are now crying hoarse for reforms in their parties. I have, however, little confidence that they can bring anything good to our political culture. My doubt is reinforced by the fact that these leaders seem to have been little interested in bringing about reforms of their own volition. But, presumably, pressure and only pressure -- you know from which direction -- has brought them to their knees.

I believe -- again, however unsavoury it might sound -- that these people have opted to dance to the tune of the real controllers of the current state of affairs, either for more gains or for mere existence. I have little conviction that many of them will be able to go the distance, as their efforts lack the required amount of spontaneity. How long can one be propelled if one lacks originality?

They might only be successful in muddying the water more. As, in their parties, they were happy to approve of all the misdeeds of their party chiefs, so are they likely to play second fiddle to the ones who are willing to use them. These poor fellows seem to have nothing to say from their own perspectives, and do so only when dictated to by the power-mongers.

Even if they can survive the initial tremors, gaining people's confidence might not be that easy. To my mind, their track records make it crystal clear that these leaders -- not all, but the ones who are reported to have amassed heaps of wealth, but are being shown leniency by the government in exchange for their service to the cause of reform -- have become so rusty that they are very unlikely to work wonders in bringing a truly reformed ambience in our politics.

Kazi S.M. Khasrul Alam Quddusi is Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration, University of Chittagong.