Bangladesh
Jamaat Jamaat distances from BNP, to field candidates in 300 seats
Own Correspondent, Dhaka, August 29: Jamaat is preparing to field candidates in 300 constituencies in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The deregistered party will field an independent candidate as a strategy in this case, and the party will leave the 20-party alliance before the date and time of the election are announced. It is said that a policy decision has been taken by the party for this reason.
Talking to several leaders of Jamaat, it is known that the fact that they will not be in the 20-party alliance in the next election is almost final. However, due to strategic reasons, it is not announcing the breakup of the alliance right now. Jamaat leaders feel that if the underestimation by BNP is more intense, it will be easier to clarify the division.
The Jamaat-BNP alliance tied the knot in the movement against the dictatorship of Ershad. Although separate, Ershad fell into the simultaneous movement of two alliances led by the Awami League and BNP-Jamaat. The BNP formed the government in 1991 relying on the votes of the Jamaat, which was small in number. Parliamentary democratic governance is back. In 2001, BNP-Jamaat came back to power with a four-party alliance.
Three decades of this polarization of politics have passed. Politics has also changed a lot. Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is the organization that directly opposes the independence war of Bangladesh. After its establishment, the party was not seen to fall into such a corner. Even though BNP became a minister, war criminal top leaders of Jamaat were not spared.
Jamaat is still an offender as a party. The organizational structure of Jamaat has been dismantled. The registration has been cancelled for several years. The party's student organization Islami Chhatrashibir is also going through the worst time. Shibir, expelled from educational institutions, is now doing politics in secret.
A discussion was held with several leaders of Jamaat in Dhaka metropolis about why the decision to leave the alliance and go it alone is gaining importance in such troubled times.
A leader of Dhaka Metropolitan South said, "Alliance as a political strategy. Again, the alliance can be broken as a political strategy. The other parties in the alliance have moved far away from the purpose for which the Jamaat was united. And Jamaat as a single organization is now a very popular party. We don't want to miss this opportunity. Preparations are being made for single elections in 300 seats."
