A
leader-less BNP awaits a bleak future, as its Secretary General Mirza
Fakhrul Islam Alamgir drags it to the 11th parliamentary elections minus
Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman amidst mounting pressure within his
party to leave the race. "He is not a tall man. But, he is right now the
tallest leader among BNP leaders, who is leading the party's election
campaign," the Indian Express told about Fakhrul while publishing his
interview in its Saturday issue.
However, the tallest man, who said
to have ignored the command of the party's fugitive acting Chairman
Tarique Rahman, is going to face a vigorous challenge from other party
stalwarts like Moudud Ahmed, Khandkar Mosharraf Hossain, Barkatullah
Bulu and Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, suggests a leaked telephone conversation
aired by different television channels.
BNP vice-chairman
Barkatullah Bulu was heard to have told the party standing committee
member Moudud Ahmed over phone that they will gain no benefit staying in
the poll race by expending a lot of money. Responding to Bulu's
call, Moudud said Mirza Fakhrul did not even receive his telephone calls
for the last two days.
"I've told Tarique Rahman that the aim of
the participation in this election is to wage a mass movement. But is
there any issue for a movement as yet?" He questioned. While talking to
Bulu, Moudud also said, "I don't know what their (Mirza Fakhrul and Dr
Kamal Hossain) dreams are - whether they are involved in any conspiracy
to legitimise this government."
They are reportedly
speculating that Mirza Fakhrul wants to become the leader of the
opposition by staying in the race, as the leadership crisis in BNP
limits the party's electoral prospects. Party publicity secretary Shahid
Uddin Chowdhury Annie also asked the senior leaders to boycott this
national polls and he did not hesitate to make his stance public. A
frustrated Annie on Thursday, just two days ahead of the polls, told
journalists that he urged his party - and Jatiya Oikya Front, in which
BNP is a key element - to withdraw from the race.
The
frustration is explicit in the rank and file of the party as it
completely failed to deploy its disarrayed activists and followers in
the election campaign, as Khaleda Zia-convicted in two corruption
cases-is in jail and Tarique Rahman - a life time convict for the August
21, 2004 grenade attack on Sheikh Hasina's rally in the capital, now in
self exile in London. However, Mirza Fakhrul, who was successful to
woo his party men to accept Dr Kamal Hossain as the leader of the newly
floated Jatiya Oikyfront, deserves a thanks, for he is helping the
polls to be held in an inclusive manner this time.
With its
staunch ally, the Jamaat-e-Islami, the BNP had boycotted the 2014
general elections, allowing an easy win to the Awami League led by Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina. The party, largely disorganised since the last
election, has also failed to show much of its strength on the streets
despite levelling allegations of oppression against the government.
Notably,
BNP under the leadership of Mirza Fakhrul did not call for a hartal or a
blockade even after jailing of Khaleda Zia on corruption charges,
though the party had launched a violent movement after 2014 by throwing
series of firebombs on commuter buses resulting in over a hundred people
burning alive.
The death count went up to exceed two hundred.
Injuries went up to two thousand. Thousands of trucks, buses and other
vehicles were vandalized by the party workers. But their efforts to
thwart the poll failed miserably. BNP leaders and activists are now
worried about the future of party leadership when its political stance
is also not clear. Many central and grassroots level leaders of the
party are still in the dark about the strategy of the party and its
alliance.
"We actually don't know about the strategy of our party and
we are also worried what will happen next. We are not getting any
specific direction from our central command. So, we cannot fully
concentrate on the elections," a BNP district level leader told the
Daily Observer. The party, which is well known for its anti-India stance
since its inception in politics framed by late usurper Gen Ziaur
Rahman, is now a frantic bid to woo India ahead of the national
elections.
Earlier this year the party hastily deleted a
provision in its constitution that would have barred a corruption
convict from holding a party post. The High Court has now directed the
Election Commission not to accept the said amendment deleting the
provision. BNP did not appeal against the court decision and now the
provision has become a threat to Khaleda and Tarique's entire political
careers. Neither of them can hold any position in the party.
The
growing infighting and lack of coordination among them and widening
communication gap between the centre and grassroots have weakened the
party's organizational strength. With both mother and son being
convicted, BNP has no leader to bank upon who can steer the party
through the elections. Now with its position in doldrums, it has become
almost impossible for BNP to face Awami League, which has a vast
organisational structure and is deeply entrenched into the society
through its various front organisations, observers in home and abroad
say. US based Associated Press (AP) on Thursday forecast that Sheikh
Hasina was poised to win a record fourth term in Sunday's elections,
drumming up support by promising a development bonanza."
Bloomberg
in a report published on Saturday said, "Hasina's ruling Awami League,
which has presided over the years of high economic growth and has
handled the influx of 750,000 Rohingya refugees from neighbouring
Myanmar, is widely expected to return to power. "That outcome would
ensure economic policy continuity and help sustain a steady flow of
foreign investments," said Bloomberg, the leader of the global business
and financial news.
The political picture suggest it clearly that
the electorate is set to grant a record third consecutive term to
Sheikh Hasina, a Prime Minister, who has earned global applause for
sheltering nearly a million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.
