Jamaat’s victory in Jashore seats attributed to BNP’s inappropriate nominations

JASHORE, Feb 18: The 13th parliamentary election in Jashore resulted in a landslide victory for Jamaat-e-Islami. Candidates from the party won in five of the six constituencies. 

Although the BNP secured victory in the remaining seat, the margin of victory over the Jamaat candidate was narrow.

Political analysts in the district have been taken aback by Jamaat's overwhelming success, especially given the traditional dominance of the Awami League (AL) and BNP in previous elections. Since the results were announced, tea stalls and social gatherings have been abuzz with analysis of the victories and defeats of the two major parties' candidates.

Local voters and leaders, however, attribute the BNP's significant defeat to inappropriate candidate nominations and the subsequent discord created by those who were denied the party ticket.

Delwar Hossain Khokon, General Secretary of the District BNP, remarked, "The statistics of victory and defeat in a place like Jashore are a matter of concern and sorrow for us. We are trying to find out the various reasons for this defeat. There are allegations that some leaders, deprived of the nomination, did not work in the field. This has undoubtedly had an impact. We will take organisational action against them."

Inappropriate Nominations and Candidate Changes:
In the Jashore-1 (Sharsha) constituency, the initial nomination was given to Mofiqul Hasan Tripti, former office secretary of the BNP's Central Committee. Tripti's nomination had created a groundswell of support among the grassroots. However, he was later replaced with Upazila BNP General Secretary Nuruzzaman Liton. This led to resentment and inaction among Tripti's followers. Supporters of former president Khairuzzaman Madhu and current president Hasan Zahir were also not visibly active in the campaign.

Activists point out that the constituency's Jamaat candidate, Azizur Rahman, is an experienced and well-known figure. In contrast, the BNP's candidate, Nuruzzaman Liton, is relatively young and unknown to the general voters outside his party circle. Local voters believe the BNP's downfall in the seat was due to not nominating experienced figures like Tripti, Hasan Zahir, or Madhu. Furthermore, many voters did not view the BNP's candidate positively this time, citing the involvement of his followers in various criminal activities, border smuggling, bombings, and political vendettas in the border upazila following the political shift.

The Jashore-6 (Keshabpur) seat also saw a similar downfall due to a last-minute candidate change. The initial nomination went to Rawonakul Islam Srabon, a former president of the Central Committee of Jatiyatabadi Chatra Dal. He was later replaced by Upazila President Abul Hossain Azad. Activists and voters say Srabon is trusted by the party's Acting Chairman, Tarique Rahman, and his nomination had enthused grassroots workers. When Azad was finally nominated, a large faction of the local BNP became disgruntled. It is alleged that although Azad has led the Upazila BNP for 25 years, he did not stand by those who suffered political persecution. His followers have been accused of looting and atrocities after the political shift, resulting in a lack of public acceptance despite his long tenure. On the other hand, the Jamaat candidate, Moktar Ali, worked tirelessly to organise his party, and the general voters reflected their preference at the ballot box.

BNP defeated by 'rebel' candidate:
In Jashore-5 (Manirampur), the party nomination was initially given to Upazila BNP President Shahid Iqbal. He was later replaced with Rashid Ahmad, a central leader of Jamiyat Ulema-e-Islam. A large section of party activists became frustrated, and Shahid Iqbal contested as a rebel candidate. The BNP's division into two groups was exploited by the Jamaat candidate, Gazi Enamul Haque. Enamul's victory was further ensured by his ability to attract votes from the Hindu-majority areas, in addition to his own party's support.

Organisational factionalism, non-cooperation from deprived nominees:
Sabira Sultana was the only female BNP candidate in the Khulna Division, contesting the Jessore-2 seat, which comprises Jhikargachha and Chaugachha. Half a dozen leaders had sought the BNP nomination for this seat. When Sabira was nominated, the deprived candidates protested and submitted memorandums to the party high command, demanding her nomination be cancelled. 

This led to acute factionalism between the party candidate and the deprived aspirants. Even when Sabira started her campaign, the deprived leaders and their followers did not support her. Party activists believe this factionalism and non-cooperation led to her defeat. Sabira Sultana herself alleged that she received no cooperation from the district and Upazila BNP leadership from the very beginning. She also attributed her defeat to party factionalism and the lavish spending by the Jamaat candidate in the constituency.

In Jashore-4, the BNP's nominated candidate was TS Ayub, Senior Joint General Secretary of the Krishak Dal. When his nomination was cancelled due to loan default status, the door opened for Abhaynagar Upazila BNP president Motiar Farazi. After Farazi received the nomination, the followers of TS Ayub became inactive in the campaign. Furthermore, general voters turned away from the BNP due to various misdeeds committed by its leaders following the political shift, which had a direct impact on the election results.

BNP's only victory came from the Jashore Sadar seat. The party's candidate, Anindya Islam Amit, who is also the BNP's Khulna Divisional Organising Secretary in-charge, contested on the Sheaf of Paddy symbol. Being a central leader, he was joined in the field not only by party activists but also by businessmen and members of civil society. They had hoped Amit would win by a huge margin of votes. However, the final result showed him winning by a margin of 14,755 votes, a figure that has left party activists disappointed.