Dhaka, Feb. 2 -- After the Bangladesh Nationalist Party's failure to derail the Awami League's campaign in the 12th general election, the party's activists and leaders are staring at a future fraught with uncertainty and confusion.

As the BNP carries out assessments of its tactics and why its moves failed, supporters and activists are questioning when their protest movement will end.

The BNP's woes have been apparent for a long time. The forestalling of the 2007 election, a state of emergency and two years of rule by a military-backed caretaker government led up to the 2008 polls which saw a landslide win for the Awami League.

The BNP has boycotted two of the three general elections since. The 2018 polls - the only ones it took part in...