Why do you have to negotiate seat sharing with the Awami League?
We are in the alliance. Where there is a candidate from the alliance, there won’t be any Awami League candidate. Apart from that, both Awami League and JASOD (Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal) will contest in the polls. That will be a normal competition. We did it in the past. Our unity with the Awami League is still strong. Both parties will run for the polls together, so that we can form an alliance in the parliament.
The main opposition and a major portion of the alliance are not joining the elections. In that case, will there be any contest when the seats are already distributed among the parties taking part in the polls?
Despite BNP rejecting the elections, many have joined the polls. They are running for the polls independently or as candidates of other parties contesting in the polls. So there will be contest in all constituencies. Nobody is going to win uncontested
JASOD’s politics has a long history. Why do you still want to run for the polls with the boat symbol instead of your own party symbol even after all these years?
All the candidates from the alliance want a uniform symbol considering the benefits of the candidates and reality at the field level.
Is the decision to use the boat symbol driven by the fact that you won't be able to cope with the ruling party in the field?
It’s not a matter of our inability. It’s more about ensuring unity among the alliance candidates. The voters may get confused if the alliance candidates run with different symbols. Considering this, we have decided to use a single symbol.
Will JASOD use the boat symbol in all constituencies?
The JASOD candidates from the 14-party alliance will contest with the boat symbol. The alliance has a strategy of keeping open seats in other constituencies where the 14-Party candidates are not contesting. In that case, our candidates will run for the polls with the party symbols. It is also under our consideration. On the basis of that, we have nominated a total of 91 candidates.
Do you think it’s hard to win contesting the polls with your own party symbol?
We have history of contesting with our party symbol and winning. Workers Party president Rashed Khan Menon has been elected MP contesting with his party symbol several times. Now, for the sake of the alliance, we are considering contesting the polls with a uniform symbol to maintain solidarity within the alliance.
What will you take, party symbol or the uniform symbol of the alliance?
I want to run for the polls with the symbol of the alliance. I contested with the boat symbol in all of the last three elections. So they vote for the boat to elect me. In that case, I get a bit advantage due to the reality. It’s better for the voters. They get upset in case of frequent change of symbols.
Anything regarding the alliance?
It would be better if a policy of a respectable share of seats among all the parties under the alliance is adopted to ensure the dignity of our electoral coalition just as the political consensus within the alliance.
*The interview was taken by Pradip Sarkar
*This interview published on the print and online versions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ashish Basu