Over the past few days, the news headlines have been focusing on relatives of ministers and members of parliament disobeying party directives. With the credibility of the country’s election system down in the dregs, there is hardly much to question about the farce now being arranged in the name of the upazila election.
The political establishment has arranged an election with a non-political guise, but even so the opposition remains adamant not to join these polls. Meanwhile, Awami League is well aware of the trials and tribulations that follow an uncontested election. That is why perhaps they felt the need all the more so to make the upazila election competitive.
They were quite convinced, perhaps, that since no party symbol would be used in the election, many of the opposition camp would join as independent candidates. However, with the opposition remaining away from the fray, how to make the election competitive? Even after fielding dummy candidates in the national election, they weren’t spared the stigma of staging a one-sided election. That was why it had become important to keep the election free of the influence of ministers and members of parliament. It became increasingly clear that if their family members or relatives became candidates in the election, even the slightest chance of the election being competitive would fizzle out. Hence the Awami League top leadership instructed that they move away and refrain from contesting.
The problem is that no one is heeding the instructions. According to the daily Samakal, the party top leadership is dismayed that no one has obeyed the instructions. There really is nothing more they can do but be dismayed. After all, what scope is there to take organisational action against those who are contesting in a non-partisan election?
Being a member of a political party does not mean that when political identity is not required for an election, they will forfeit their right to contest individually due to the party. There is no law either that prevents anyone from contesting in the election simply because someone in the family is a minister or member of parliament.
We would hear the term ‘monolithic party’ in describing the Communist Party, and this applied Jamaat too. But this tightly maintained discipline was absent in Awami League and other parties. In the Communist Party or Jamaat, individual freedoms are so restricted, that approval is even required when a party member is to marry or join a job. That is why there is no crisis over elections in the Communist Party and Jamaat. Communist Party has said from beforehand that they would not join this election. Jamaat first decided to join, then suddenly changed their decision overnight and their decision went into full effect. In the case of BNP, there were reports here and there of a few party men similarly disregarding the party decision and going ahead to contest in the polls.
The question is, why does Awami League face this crisis? Surely no one will disagree that this crisis is entirely of Awami League’s making. Surely it is still fresh in everyone’s minds how, in the last parliamentary polls, the party leadership, contrary to the party constitution, encouraged those in the party who were not given nomination, to contest as dummy candidates against the party-nominated contestants.
By establishing the members of parliament as advisors in the upazilas, they have gained clout in all development work and social activities of the areas. There are special annual allocations for the members of parliament too. So it is only natural for them to want their clans to be in the upazila administration, to consolidate the reign of the MPs
Also, those who were expelled in the past for violating party decision and contesting against party men, were ultimately all pardoned and taken back into the party fold. Thus it is deemed that the party does not take such organisational action seriously. So why will those who are not heeding party orders, act any different now?
Amidst all this, what is noticeable is that those who have violated party orders are all the sons, wives, brothers and close relatives of ministers and members of parliament. Also noticeable is that all-out effort is being made to ensure they win uncontested.
In Shingra, Natore, a close relative to state minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak, even went as far as to abduct his rival in the contest. But given the gravity of the offence, he was obliged to withdraw nomination in the face of criticism. But has the abduction case been resolved? Ittefaq reports that though firearms were recovered in the Awami League leader’s car used for the abduction, no case has been filed as yet. Invisible forces are clearly behind the inert stance of the election commission and the police regarding such crimes.
The question is, when the ministers and members are already bestowed with authority, why are they so keen to establish the authority of their family members in the upazilas? The answer is no secret. Rather than being lawmakers, the members of parliament have become powerful rulers in their respective constituencies. Awami League is greatly responsible for this too. By establishing the members of parliament as advisors in the upazilas, they have gained clout in all development work and social activities of the areas. There are special annual allocations for the members of parliament too. So it is only natural for them to want their clans to be in the upazila administration, to consolidate the reign of the MPs. There really is not anything much different to expect as a consequence of the collapse of democratic governance.
This reckless attitude of certain ministers and members of parliament, which is seen by some as arrogance or disobedience, can be interpreted by others as an independent stand. There is a different angle too. This arrogance of defiance can spread rapidly like a contagion throughout the party. Proclivities for independence spread fast. This is not quite unwarranted in a democracy. That is why the civil society repeatedly demands the abolition of Article 70 from the constitution.
However, the manner in which the two major political parties of Bangladesh have centralised power within their organisations, it cannot be expected that the MPs in the near future will get the chance to wield such blatant disobedience. So there is no cause for concern among Awami League’s top leadership. Then again, it is singularly the party itself that is to blame for the indiscipline and the suicidal clashes that that fast growing within the party.
* Kamal Ahmed is a senior journalist
* This column appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir