BNP sees big gains from Khulna, Barishal polls

After the Barishal and Khulna city elections, BNP is seeing "big gains" from boycotting the mayoral polls swept by the ruling Awami League.

A low voter turnout, the attack on the Islami Andolon mayoral candidate followed by the party's subsequent announcement of boycotting the upcoming Rajshahi and Sylhet city polls, and failure of BNP's expelled leaders to win councillor posts are among the issues that have galvanised the opposition to believe the latest polls' outcomes were in their favour.

The BNP's boycott of the city polls is part of its careful anti-government strategy, with the aim of proving that people lack confidence in elections under the current government and the Election Commission (EC).

The only evidence of this lack of confidence can be a low voter turnout.  

Following the AL candidate's defeat in the Gazipur city polls, the BNP was quick to redesign its strategy.

The party took a hardline approach – expelling candidates who decided to participate in the Barishal and Khulna polls and ordering its activists and followers to refrain from voting.

In a damning letter, the party termed the expelled leaders as "Mir Jafars". 

The BNP's post-election analysis shows that the party thinks their strategy worked efficiently.

None of its expelled leaders won the grassroots elections in Khulna. In Barishal, expelled candidates secured nine out of 30 seats. 

Speaking to The Business Standard, BNP joint Secretary General Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal, said, "Our decision to expel [some party members] was proven even more strongly. They were cheated by this government with promises of fair elections, and people turned away from them. We hope this strategy will work better in Sylhet-Rajshahi."

More importantly, the voter turnout was at a historic low, compared to 2008.

Even then, the BNP leaders still questioned the voter turnout data provided by the EC.

In this regard, BNP Standing Committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy said, "This government is illegal and fake, and so is the Election Commission. The data from vote counts in these elections is also false.

"We, however, don't want to focus on any other aspect aside from our main demand which is a caretaker government for the country," he further said.

According to the Election Commission, the turnout in the 2008 Barishal City Corporation elections was 81.99%. In 2013, it was 72.1%, falling to 55% in 2018. Yesterday, the turnout was 51.46%.

For Khulna the turnouts in the past three city elections were 77.8%, 68.7% and 62% respectively.

This time it was a low of 47.88%.

Last month, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir had said the people had no interest in the city polls being held under the election commission which is regulated by the government.

"They [govt] have completely destroyed the election system by using the state machinery," the BNP leader had said.

Sticking to its guns of not participating in the elections, the BNP leaders also began a unique form of canvassing: it went door to door urging people not to vote.

"We are not only boycotting the election but also discouraging city residents from voting," Dr Manisha Chakraborty, convener of BASAD's city unit, had said during the run-up to the polls.

Although the boycott has been a success, the BNP isn't waiting to rest on its laurels.

Apart from the BNP not taking part, the party believes it has also managed to dissuade others from joining the elections.

Moazzem Hossain Alal told The Business Standard that the attack on Barishal's mayoral candidate Mufti during the polls has proved that people have no right or the bare minimum scope to vote freely under this government.

This particular incident and the Islami Andolan's subsequent boycott of upcoming polls under the ruling government is also seen by the BNP as an achievement in favour of its demand for a caretaker government.

In a statement on 12 June, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said it was once again proven that fair elections were not possible under the current government.

Fakhrul alleged that the incident showed that the Awami League cannot tolerate any opposition candidate other than themselves, and they must win elections even if it meant carrying out such attacks.

He also questioned the efficiency of the Election Commission and the polling atmosphere, saying the commission had failed to conduct such an election which was not attended by any opposition.

Meanwhile, the BNP continues to reiterate its stance on boycotting elections until a caretaker government is formed.

Besides, the party leaders said they managed to convince people of the country and the foreign community by boycotting the elections under this government considering various issues, including the new US visa policy regarding Bangladesh elections, letter of six congressmen to US President Biden and six members of the European Parliament (MEPs) writing to the high representative of the European Union.