BNP’s stunning victory in the landmark general election on February 12 is being seen as a triumph of pro-liberation, pro-women's rights, and moderate values. Led by the party’s 60-year-old chairman, Tarique Rahman, who returned home ending 17 years of self-imposed exile less than two months before the consequential vote, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party overcame an unexpected surge from the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami, a party emboldened by its alliance with the National Citizen Party of July warriors.
If Jamaat had won, it would have been its first such achievement not only in Bangladesh but also in the entire subcontinent. Despite its failure to grab state power, Jamaat’s performance in the polls has been quite impressive – far better than the Jamaat in Pakistan. From only 18 seats in 1991, this time Jamaat has increased its tally to 68. It had won only three seats in 1996, when it contested independently.
In Bangladesh, Jamaat has a history of being subjected to ban, losing registration, and its top leaders hanged to death for crimes against humanity committed during Bangladesh’s 1971 War of Liberation, during which it collaborated with the occupying Pakistani military in the genocide and rape of women. For most of its political career in Bangladesh, Jamaat was the junior alliance partner of BNP. But during the February 12 polls, Jamaat for the first time in 17 years formed an alliance under its own leadership and directly fought against the BNP. Although it did not secure enough seats to form a government, the alliance’s tally of 77 seats raised many eyebrows, with political pundits going deep to find the reasons.
Jamaat has always been a party known for its stronghold in the northwest and the southwest. The Islamist party had never won a seat in the capital. This time, however, it secured six of the 15 seats in the Dhaka metropolitan area, including Dhaka-4, Dhaka-5, Dhaka-12, Dhaka-14, Dhaka-15, and Dhaka-16. In addition, alliance candidate and NCP convener Nahid Islam secured the Dhaka-11. Its vote share nationally has also seen a big jump. Though Jamaat’s Amir Shafiqur Rahman has accepted the results, the party has been demanding a recount of votes in 30 constituencies where candidates from the Jamaat-led alliance lost by narrow margins. Jamaat’s emergence as a formidable opposition has largely been possible due to the absence of the Awami League, whose activities have been banned by an executive order of Professor Muhammad Yunus’ interim government. The entire election process and its outcome would have been different should Awami League been in the fray.
Thanks largely to BNP’s pro-liberation pitch, Jamaat’s upswing suffered a setback. But it may prove temporary if BNP fails to deliver on the electoral pledges. A special feature of this election has been the race between BNP and Jamaat to woo the Awami League voters. Both parties benefited, while analysts say BNP profited more than its ally-turned-rival. A large number of Awami League workers and supporters defied their exiled leader Sheikh Hasina’s call to stay away from the vote. A majority of them voted for BNP, their arch-rival, just to prevent the Jamaat from taking office in a country whose independence it had opposed. After the results were out, the pro-independence forces heaved a sigh of relief. Their logic: Nai mamar cheye kana mama valo (something is better than nothing). A second factor working against Jamaat has been the party’s misogynist stance. Jamaat Amir’s controversial remarks on reducing women’s out-of-home working hours, his party’s failure to nominate any woman candidate, and calling women unfit for leading his party angered many women just before the polls. By rejecting Jamaat in the ballot boxes, women in Bangladesh have ditched the politics of theocracy.
Thus, Jamaat’s loss became BNP’s gain.
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