There’s irony in the manner in which the Bangladesh political landscape is being shaped for the February elections, says Deep Halder, one of three authors of Inshallah Bangladesh: The Story of an Unfinished Revolution.
In a conversation on The Gist, he said “When I covered the Jan 2024 elections for The Print, my headline was ‘Awami League Fights Awami League’ and Sheikh Hasina wins because it was an election where the second largest party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, decided to stay away. It was an election where the Bangladesh Supreme Court kept the Islamic parties out of the poll fray.”
Now the boot is on the other foot. All political activities of the Awami League are banned, the students wing of Awami League is banned. It is one thing to keep Sheikh Hasina away or give a verdict against her, but it is quite another to ban the Awami League from the elections.
The former ruling party is backed by an estimated 30% of the population and while some members have defected to other parties, it’s unlikely to make much of a dent in its public support.
The BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami, once political allies, now don’t seem to like each other very much. The former in fact is wary of the growth in influence of the latter, its influence particularly with the interim government of Mohammad Yunus and even the Election Commission.
Add to that the National Citizen’s Party (NCP), which is known as the ‘king’s party’ because of the backing of Yunus. But the large number of extortion cases against the National Citizen Party has made it very unpopular in Bangladesh and if one looks at the online polls, it is not even in contention.
“I sense on the ground huge anti-incumbency,” said Halder, “and I think even if she (Hasina) has not been fully forgiven there is a sense among common people that look that time was perhaps better than this time.”
There is growing suspicion over the interim leader Mohammad Yunus and his support for the Jamaat. Also, Bangladeshi youth appear disillusioned with India, convinced that Delhi was the puppeteer pulling Hasina’s strings, and disappointed over the rise of Hindutva in their biggest neighbour.
Tune in for more in this conversation with Deep Halder, one of the authors of Inshallah Bangladesh.
Thirty eight years in journalism, widely travelled, history buff with a preference for Old Monk Rum. Current interest/focus spans China, Technology and Trade. Recent reads: Steven Colls Directorate S and Alexander Frater's Chasing the Monsoon. Netflix/Prime video junkie. Loves animal videos on Facebook. Reluctant tweeter.
