Candidates’ list not so encouraging

There are 300 + 50 seats in parliament. Some seats are allotted for visitors. The television has nowadays turned everyone into a visitor (in parliament).

However, there has been a scramble to occupy the seats allotted for members of parliament. The serious candidates have bought tickets spending money to enter the House. Such aspirants are more than 8,000. The political parties have now started distributing the tickets gradually.

Major political parties were overwhelmed seeing the crowd of the nomination seekers. Everyone delivered good words before the TV cameras. They said they would cooperate with the candidates picked by the party. But, the leaders of the party could not be so assured of compliance with party decision.

There were warnings issued publicly. The ruling Awami League announced that it would expel the 'rebel' candidates for ever. Who knows how far this will work! In the 2014 elections, at least 16 'rebel candidates' came out successful.

The 'rebel' candidate at Dhaka's Lalbagh area told the media, "The leader has granted me nomination as an independent candidate." He now has received nomination. This proves all your sins are pardoned if you win. Victory is the key factor here. The AL general secretary used two English words -- 'winnable candidates' -- who would be given nomination.

The voters have their own standards to select the candidates. The party, however, may consider money and muscle power as winning factors. The AL list of candidates shows most of the faces are old ones. Many of the fresh ones have also been taken from the old families. The roots of familiocracy have spread everywhere. Then arises the question of seat sharing with Jatiya Party and other alliance partners. In the end, the old faces come back.

The BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) has fallen into trouble. The 'minus two' formula has proven successful for the party. Two of the top leaders, Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman, cannot contest the polls. Many of the leaders have been in an awkward situation due to various cases. Several of the convict leaders are on bail and several await verdict on their appeal petitions.

The court, however, has set aside some of their appeals. The punishment is not being postponed. Therefore, many of them will not be able to remain in the electoral contest and this is why two or three names are simultaneously seen in a single constituency in the list. The election campaigns see a lot of aspirants. As the party is in trouble, what strategy the 'rebels' are to adopt is not clear yet. On top of that, there are coalition partners. The ambitious, agitated and deprived ones now seek entry into parliament, securing Gano Forum's tickets. How they are being managed is a matter to see.

The citizens sometimes dream irrationally. They hope this time parliament will replete with angelic figures, the members who shout on the floor will be scanty, and more youth will come to the House.

The list of the candidates, however, says otherwise. The citizens, in reality, do not understand politics. If they did, everyone would participate in politics. Everyone should now read the Italian diplomat and politician Machiavelli's 'The Prince'.

There is fracas every time the election nears. The people are baffled by the battle of words between the politicians. When a few words are exchanged between them, we term that as 'dialogue', but the dialogue only sticks to the old script. The dialogue, rather, has a distinctive meaning and significance.

Parliament has not been effective in this country since the very beginning. The ruling party tends to grab everything while the opposition boycotts parliament. This never let parliament turn effective. But, parliament is the most suitable place for a dialogue. The citizens hope next parliament will turn into a forum to resolve important issues through debates and discussions. But, if parliament is manned with aggressive persons, it would not be effective.

However, we cannot be so optimistic seeing major parties’ lists of candidates. No matter whatever they say or chooses to phrase their manifestoes, will their habit change overnight?

*Mohiuddin Ahmed is a researcher on political parties of Bangladesh. This piece, originally published in Prothom Alo print edition, has been rewritten in English by Nusrat Nowrin.