After the assassination of Bangabandhu and the 4 national leaders in 1975, Syed Ashraful Islam, the elder son of the temporary President of Bangladesh, Syed Nazrul Islam, moved to the United Kingdom. After a long exile, he returned to the country around 1995. In the 1996 elections, he was elected as a Member of Parliament from the Kishoreganj-1 constituency. He went on to win the same seat four more times. During the military-backed caretaker government's tenure in 2007, he served as the acting General Secretary of the party. Political observers noted a sense of political wisdom in his statements as the party's spokesperson during that time. After the Awami League came to power in 2009, he was elected General Secretary of the party during the 18th National Conference. He was also given the responsibility of Minister for Local Government, Rural Development, and Cooperatives.
However, before the national parliamentary elections on January 5, 2014, he fell out of favor with the party's top leaders due to the dismal performance of party candidates in the elections for five city corporations and his support for holding by-elections after the national elections. This created a distance between him and many senior leaders, including party president Sheikh Hasina. This distance persisted until Syed Ashraful died in 2019.
On June 15, 2013, elections were held for Sylhet, Rajshahi, Barisal, and Khulna city corporations. In those elections, candidates from the then-BNP-led 18-party alliance won significantly against the Awami League candidates. Subsequently, on July 6, the election for the Gazipur City Corporation took place, where the Awami League candidate was also defeated. Many senior party leaders blamed Syed Ashraful Islam for the losses in these five city corporation elections.
Describing the events of that time, a source from the Awami League told Bonik Barta, "In 2013, elections were held for five city corporations, and Awami League candidates lost in all of them. At that time, Syed Ashraf was the Minister of Local Government. A significant portion of senior Awami League leaders, including Obaidul Quader, argued that Syed Ashraf had chosen a time for the city corporation elections that was unfavorable for the Awami League. They complained to Sheikh Hasina that they would not have been lost to the Awami League if those city corporation elections had not been held. Additionally, they mentioned that due to Syed Ashraf, the Awami League could not intervene in the elections."
The source further revealed that after the elections, the then government-did not allow the five mayors to assume their responsibilities. Syed Ashraf was in charge at that time, and he wanted those elected to be allowed to perform their duties. However, none of the five mayors were able to take office. Many senior leaders in the party, including Sheikh Hasina, did not view Syed Ashraf's stance on allowing them to take office favorably.
The schedule for the 10th National Parliament elections was announced after the five city corporation elections. In that election, held under Sheikh Hasina, the BNP-led then 18-party alliance decided not to participate. This created a political instability in the country. In December 2013, Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy and Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, arrived in Dhaka. He attempted to resolve the fiasco by discussing it with various political parties. During that time, a meeting was also held with the Awami League, led by Syed Ashraf.
In that meeting, the Awami League informed the UN special envoy about the announcement of the schedule for the 10th National Parliament. It indicated that there was no option to withdraw from that election.
However, rumors circulated within the Awami League that during the meeting, Syed Ashraf had verbally informed Taranco that there might be an opportunity for a midterm election with the participation of all parties in the future. Many within the Awami League reacted negatively to this. Discussions with several responsible party leaders revealed that a hostile political atmosphere was created before the 10th National Parliament elections following the BNP-Jamaat alliance's decision to boycott the election. In response, a delegation from the United Nations visited Bangladesh to address the situation. The delegation held several rounds of meetings with the Awami League and the BNP. However, the schedule for the January 5 elections was announced before the UN representatives arrived.
During the discussions, Taranco proposed that the Awami League reach a consensus with the BNP and other political parties. The Awami League responded by stating that it could not be halted once the election schedule was announced. The announced schedule did not allow the BNP to participate in the elections, and the Awami League did not favor announcing a new schedule. Nevertheless, there was discussion about the possibility of holding another midterm election around mid-2016 or later with BNP participation. Among the senior leaders of the Awami League, only Syed Ashraf agreed with this idea and favored a midterm election. However, this matter was kept secret. Syed Ashraf reasoned that it would not be right to hold elections excluding a major political party like the BNP. He communicated this to Sheikh Hasina, which led to her becoming displeased with him, and it gained support from a faction within the party.
During Oscar Fernandez-Taranco's visit to Bangladesh, he also held meetings with representatives from civil society alongside political parties. Describing the events of that time, Badiul Alam Majumdar, the head of the Election Commission Reform Committee and the Secretary of Citizens for Good Governance (Shujan), told Bonik Barta, "At that time, Taranco had a meeting with me and Jamilur Reza Chowdhury. They were seriously trying to facilitate a participatory election and held several meetings with political parties. During that time, there were rumors about a midterm election, but I can't say what the basis for those rumors was."
Describing the events of that time, Mahmudur Rahman Manna, president of Nagorik Oikko, told Bonik Barta, "After the 2014 elections, there were rumors about a midterm election. However, I can't provide details about that. I had a close relationship with Syed Ashraf. He was also a member of the Chhatra League, and so were we. Our relationship was friendly. I never directly asked him about it, nor did he ever mention anything. But we felt he was fair. I never thought he was in favor of the kind of election that took place in 2014. Perhaps he thought it was necessary to keep the election on track, and he tried to convince the government of that. But it was useless; Sheikh Hasina had risen above everything."
He said, "Syed Ashraf was a person with democratic values. He wanted to practice that. However, he couldn't think outside the party or rise above it. No leader, including him, dared to rebel against the party to do something. Yet, his demeanor reflected someone who was inclined towards democracy in everything he did. But it was clear from the government's side that they would not make any concessions. Before the elections, the then Prime Minister proposed that four ministries be given. There was quite a bit of discussion about this. In the opposition camp, especially within the BNP, there were talks that if we could secure four important ministries, such as Home and Establishment, which influence the elections, it would be beneficial. However, that proposal was not thoroughly discussed. There was also no opportunity to verify whether the Prime Minister genuinely offered it. Later, it became evident that Sheikh Hasina's proposals were never sincere. It was impossible to say anything during that time beyond guessing whether the opposition would accept that."
After the 10th National Parliament elections, Syed Ashraful Islam was again appointed Minister of Local Government, Rural Development, and Cooperatives (LGRD). However, on July 9, 2015, he was unexpectedly relieved of his ministerial duties and made a minister without portfolio. The LGRD ministry was then assigned to Engineer Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain. Shortly after, Syed Ashraf took on the responsibility of the Ministry of Public Administration.
In October 2016, during the Awami League council, Syed Ashraf did not run for the position of General Secretary, which Obaidul Quader took over. Syed Ashraf was made a member of the party's presidium, but his influence diminished. Many of his close associates also faced quite embarrassing situations.
On the other hand, Syed Ashraf fell into a sort of silence in politics and government. After the death of his wife, Sheila Ahmed, in 2017, he also became quite ill. He became irregular in his ministerial duties. On January 3, 2019, he passed away while receiving treatment in Bangkok, Thailand.