Warning that the next national elections would be tough, Awami League President Sheikh Hasina yesterday asked her party's grassroots leaders to resolve their internal conflicts ahead of the polls slated for December.

AL leaders and workers have no scope for negligence in any constituency. It could lead to defeats and hurt government formation, UNB and BSS reported her as saying.

Hasina made the call at AL's special extended meeting attended by union-level AL presidents and general secretaries, and union parishad chairmen from Rangpur, Khulna, Dhaka, and Mymensingh divisions at the Gono Bhaban.

"Still, there're conflicts in our party in some places ... these conflicts will have to be resolved. You'll have to keep in mind that the next election will be harder than ever,” she said.

The AL chief asked her party men to unite for Boat, electoral symbol of the AL, saying, “You'll have to work together for whoever gets the boat symbol so that it doesn't suffer defeat in the elections.”

Hasina said the AL would take part in the election under the banner of its alliance along with other “friendly' political parties. “So, Awami League leaders should be ready to make sacrifices.”

On Victory Day, people of Thakur Manda village in Naogaon-4 constituency woke up to the smell of something burning.

The night before, with the help of a few local Awami League men, some people wearing helmets came to the village around midnight in a motorcycle and a microbus, locals said.

The attackers held the village guard at gunpoint and tore down the ropes on which posters of BNP candidate AHM Shamsul Alam Pramanik were hung.

They then piled up the posters and torched them.

The men did the same at Choumohini and Cheragpur Sufiabazar on their way to Niamatpur. They threw the BNP's election symbols and chairs of BNP offices into ponds and torched three BNP campaign offices.

“Our plans for Victory Day celebrations were ruined and we stayed indoors,” said Rezaul Islam of Thakur Manda, adding that AL and BNP supporters had been living in peace in the village.

Even though the arson in Thakur Manda was carried out under the cover of the night, the attackers did not care for cover in Bhabanipur, Shahgola and Chhotodanga Bazar of Atrai upazila in Nagaon-6, BNP leaders claimed.

There, posters were torn and torched as late as 11:30am.

BNP leaders claimed that this was the situation in most constituencies in Rajshahi region and this was the reason many candidates were unable to campaign.

In the last two days, this correspondent visited five of the six constituencies in Naogaon and three of the six in Rajshahi and saw electioneering was yet to gather momentum even though the polls were less than two weeks away.

At tea-stalls, rural markets, and farmers' gatherings where people usually talk about politics, no one was heard talking about the election.

Many of the 30 voters interviewed said they were worried about violence.

Thakur Manda villagers said police's refusal to visit the spot after being informed of the arson had them more worried. 

Officer-in-Charge Mozaffar Hossain of Manda Police Station said he had no information about arson attacks in Thakur Manda. “In my area, AL has no one to orchestrate violence with. But the BNP has many.”

He said police recorded a case against BNP men for damaging an AL office in Tetulia union and that he learnt about another incident in which faeces was hurled at the AL office in Sotihat area.   

At the beginning of the campaign, police arrested two BNP men in the area. Local AL men had been continuously threatening them of dire consequences if they worked for the BNP camp, said a BNP adherent unwilling to be named.

Local AL leader and former chairman of Bharso union Sharikul Islam denied that the arson attack in Thakur Manda was carried out by AL men. “They were outsiders, not our men. We suspect a conspiracy behind this,” he said.

When asked about his thoughts on the election, a rickshaw-van puller in Choddomail area of Manda said, “I won't talk. We are often blamed as we are the poor.”

He said he decided not to talk about the polls since he learnt that some villagers of Shankarpur were arrested and beaten up by AL men for speaking against the AL.

Instead, he said, “My body aches every night after pulling my van on these battered roads.” The roads from Chalkgouri to Damnash, Lalonpur to Gangopara, and Tentulia to Shankarpur have not been repaired in the last 10 years.

In Naogaon-1 (Porsha, Sapahar and Niamatpur), Naogaon-5 (Sadar upazila), Rajshahi-2 (Rajshahi city), and Rajshahi-3 (Paba and Mohonpur), BNP candidates were able to campaign, though at a much smaller scale than their rivals.

The ruling Awami League's 22nd council concluded on Saturday, electing Sheikh Hasina as its president for a record 10th consecutive time. Obaidul Quader made a hattrick as the general secretary. The national triennial council ended, as expected – even before the council – without any major changes, although the political situation of the country is different this time compared to that of the last two councils.

The last two AL councils were held in 2016 and 2019, and they each took place after the national elections in 2014 and 2018, respectively. But this time, the council was held a year before the national election. Another point to note is that the main opposition camp, BNP, appears to have woken up out of a political hibernation, displaying its organisational strength on the streets. So, the new committee of the ruling party is set to face a double challenge – preparing for election 2023 and politically countering the BNP movement.

In the political arena, the popular perception is that the Awami League is more organised, stronger and more successful when it is the opposition. Starting from the Six-Point Movement of the 1960s, which was the precursor to the 1971 Liberation War, to forcing the BNP government to introduce a constitutional caretaker government provision in 1996, the now-ruling Awami League has historically been seen as a strong, formidable, and vocal opposition on the streets.

Read more

Mahfuz Anam writes: From Bangabandhu to Sheikh Hasina

But now the question is whether the AL, as a ruling party, is capable of countering the opposition camp's campaign and preparing for the upcoming election at the same time. This may prove difficult given that the party has become used to smooth sailing and calm waters over its 14 consecutive years in office, during which it has successfully managed to stifle any opposition.

It is a well-accepted maxim that parties weaken organisationally with long stints in power. And that holds true for the ruling Awami League. Yes, it is true that the opposition could not put up a strong enough challenge after the January 5, 2014 election and till June of this year. To be more specific, one could even say that it was not the ruling party but the government which was successful in tackling the opposition. That is why we often hear that bureaucrats run the show, not politicians.

On the other hand, with the Awami League in office for 14 years, its grassroots leaders and workers enjoyed a free run because of the opposition camp's organisational weakness. They indulged themselves in other matters (particularly rent seeking), because there was hardly anyone from the opposition to challenge them on the field. And it is no secret that the Awami League General Secretary, Obaidul Quader, told his party leaders and workers to "save the party" by quitting the practice of "exchanging money for positions in local-level committees."

As the AL relied on administration and law enforcers to counter the opposition's campaign on the streets, the party men let loose. So, while the government became stronger, the ruling party did not stay in step. Rather, AL's grassroots leaders and activists have now become more divided. Intra-party conflict has become rampant. Distance between ministers and lawmakers, lawmakers and district leaders and local Awami League leaders have widened.

It may sound like an exaggeration, but one need only look at the fact that more than a hundred people were killed centring the union council elections of 2021, with most of them belonging to the ruling party itself, due to intra-party feuds.

Read more

How will Awami League tackle the run-up to the election?

Before the polls, the party announced that rebel candidates who work against the party would be expelled. And many were expelled but before the council. But it is also said that there was a general amnesty granted to those party men. No doubt, this concession was made keeping in mind the next general election and the opposition's campaign. But, will those who revolted once or defamed Bangabandhu or tarnished the image of the government or the party bring any good for the Awami League? Most importantly, how do the survivors of their rebellion view this general amnesty? Could it further widen the prevailing intra-party rift?

The current AL committee is almost unchanged from the previous one, with only a few reshuffles. But when the party, or more appropriately the government, is going through the toughest time of its recent history due to allegations of corruption, the spillover effects of the Russia-Ukraine war, a grim post-Covid economic situation and the opposition's diligent campaign, would it be able to overcome the crises simply by relying on the old guard?

Any new council brings some changes to the party in order to reorganise it. But this time, the ruling party appears to want to rely on its old faithfuls to face the upcoming challenges. Of course, only time will tell how far they can go relying on its old stalwarts. One thing is clear: the ruling party is passing through a very critical time on many fronts, and a slip, any slip on any front, would prove very costly indeed.

Mohammad Al-Masum Molla is deputy chief reporter at The Daily Star.

Voters in char areas of Lalmonirhat seem to have lost hope as several promises regarding the area's development had been announced in previous elections over the decades but nothing was done in reality.

Every day as the sun sets, majority of the 105 chars drown in darkness as only 50 percent of the households have solar panels that keep electricity flowing for a maximum of six hours a day.   

Different governments came to power since independence but the fate of char dwellers remained unchanged, said locals.

“When election comes, agents of political parties and MPs come with a list of promises and seek votes but all of it vanishes as soon as the results are out,” said 100-year-old Afsar Ali, a resident of Falimari char in Lalmonirhat sadar.

“The candidates send their men to seek votes. They do not even come themselves.”

The chars are home to 67,500 people of whom 48,000 are entitled to vote in the December 30 polls. There are 27 government-run primary schools in the chars where about 15 percent of the population is educated.

Jatiya Party Co-chairman GM Quader is contesting from the Awami League-led 14-party grand alliance against Lalmonirhat BNP President Asadul Habib Dulu in Lalmonirhat-3 constituency.

The posters of the two contenders were visible in Falimari and Nagartari chars (both under Lalmonirhat-3 constituency) on Wednesday.

However, not many seemed to be bothered with the upcoming polls. A group of men sitting at a tea stall in Falmari were seen talking about anything but the 11th parliamentary polls knocking at the door. 

Among them, Achhir Uddin, 58, a resident of Nagartari char in Dharala river, said they did not have anything to do with politics as they had to think about their survival first.

Char dwellers earn their living mainly through fishing and banana farming. Every year during the months of July, August and September, they become penniless as their belongings go under an overflowing river.

Asked about education and electrical connections, Hashi Akhter, 35, became angry and asked this correspondent to talk to the local MP.

“Before the 2014 elections, the MP's supporters promised us electricity and dyke in the river but nothing has been done till date,” she said, adding, “When the area is flooded, the ministers come on boats, distribute some dry food and go back.”

Mintu Bepari, who was standing near Hashi, noted that there was hardly any medical facility available in the chars. “We have to go to Lalmonirhat sadar, which is 10 kilometres away, to get treatment,” said the 25-year-old.

He further said the only union health complex, located some four kilometres away from his char, remained without doctors most of the time.

There is no connecting road between the mainland and the chars. One has to cross the river by a boat and then walk at least two kilometres to get a transport to reach the district, according to the char dwellers.

Sheuli Akhter, a student of class V at Smriti Ray Crystal Primary School in Falimari, stressed the need of a high school.

On this, GM Quader said if elected, he would place a dyke first to ease the difficulties of char people. “We will arrange medical facilities and set up educational institutes there,” he further said.

Asked why people in the chars were forgotten after elections, the Jatiya Party leader, with a smile on his face, said he and his men had been in touch with the char people. They took updates of their condition whenever possible.

Similar accounts came from Jatiya Oikyafront candidate Asadul Habib Dulu. He claimed that he had maintained a good relation with the char people.

However, the char people felt differently.