From winter clothes to fair price shops: How political parties are wooing people in innovative ways

Political parties are increasingly engaging in grassroots campaigns to win over voters. Photo: Imran Hossain

Some weeks ago, I was walking around my university campus. A banner hung up on bamboo poles drew my attention: "Horn prohibited. Maximum speed limit 20 kilometres per hour."

Just under this caution sign, another line said, "Courtesy: Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Chatradal, Jahangirnagar University." JCD, of course, is the student wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

A day earlier on 19 November, a first-year JU student was killed in an auto-rickshaw accident. This resulted in students talking, both online and offline, about road safety awareness campaigns within the campus.

Campus-based organisations were arranging protests and seminars addressing the causes and solutions of the issue. To that end, Chatradal's effort to raise awareness got mixed reactions on Facebook.

"Whatever is good deserves appreciation, no matter which party it comes from," someone wrote in the comments section. Another commenter said, somewhat in a critical tone, "The initiative was good, but would it not have been better without bringing up the party name?"

"As a student organisation, our aim is to work for the students," said Mohammad Faisal Hossain, a Jatiotabadi Chatradal (JCD) leader from JU. "It is unfortunate that one of our juniors died in the accident. We wanted to do something that resonated with what the general students want," he added.

Since Hasina's ouster, political parties, student organisations, and civil society groups are actively discussing reforms and new policies, which should be prioritised. Additionally, people are also discussing what type of politics they want on social media and beyond.

Against this backdrop, parties are trying to adapt their communication strategies to better resonate with the people, especially the younger generation.

This shift feels somewhat refreshing because, for decades, political parties failed to engage with the people. Political organisations have been criticised for prioritising their agendas over public interest, and the previous 15-year-old Awami League regime only made it worse.

The recent focus on social welfare and grassroots engagement might signal a meaningful change – or could it just be a temporary strategy to win favour in a politically volatile time? By speaking to different parties, we also dive into the inner workings of grassroots campaigns.

A renewed surge of 'campaigns' after 15 years

A primary method is to engage in different social welfare campaigns, donate to those who are in need, and participate in awareness activities centred on the community's interest.

For instance, according to Faisal, awareness banners on migratory birds have also been posted by the JU branch of JCD by the lakes where they usually come. Additionally, JCD supported a school named 'Tori' in JU for street children with donated bags and stationeries.

Bangladesh Islami Chhatrashibir (ICS) is also participating in such activities. Recently, they have distributed winter clothes to the staff in the restaurants and tea stalls on different university campuses.

"[Moreover], we always want to ensure the welfare of the students. Every year we help 1,000 to 1,200 needy students get access to university admission coaching free of cost. Even when we were not allowed to participate in our political activities, our efforts to help the students always persisted," said Abu Shadik Kayem, the president of Dhaka University ICS.

A couple of months ago, Shadik revealed his identity as an ICS leader, surprising his peers and acquaintances. Earlier, he was just known as one of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (ADSM) organisers.

He continued, "Recently some students became sick from eating stale food. We took them to a hospital, provided medicines, and dropped them off at their halls as well, including some female students."

In a recent move, Jamaat initiated "fair-price groceries" shops in Dhaka and Chattogram, where they sell groceries at a price relatively lower than the market. Mahir Shahriar Reza, the president of Bangladesh Students Union (BSU) opposes the idea of these kinds of efforts from a political party. "We believe it is the government's responsibility to dismantle syndicates and ensure the availability of essential goods to meet the needs of the people."

But how does Shibir manage to fund all these students? Shadik said that financial contributions are made to the organisation by every ICS member. Besides, many well-wishers and allies are involved.

For example, coaching centres Retina (for medical college admission) and Focus (for university admission), are run by some of their well-wishers, which provide free education to students recommended by ICS. The mother party of ICS, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, also has similar social welfare campaigns.

For instance, recently someone from my village in Barguna told me that they received a call from a Jamaat leader asking if he needed a house. He responded yes, as it was on the verge of falling apart.

Consequently, the Jamaat leader verified through their sources the family's financial state. Later, someone from Jamaat's central authority called back the person with a confirmation that the process of receiving the house was now underway.

Matiur Rahman Akanda, Jamaat's central publicity affairs secretary confirmed that they are, in fact, working on such a project to provide houses to the rural marginal people in need.

"It is just one of our many endeavours to work for social welfare. Right after Hasina's fall, when the flood hit the eastern part of the country, Jamaat tried to their best capacity to alleviate the situation," he said.

"During the July uprising, many students, workers and general people became martyrs. Jamaat provided a certain amount of financial help to the martyrs' families; and has come forward to help those who are severely injured with the medical bills," Akanda continued.

There's more, according to Akanda, from financial assistance for unemployed young people to sewing machines for rural women, all spearheaded by this political party.

In a recent move, Jamaat initiated "fair-price groceries" shops in Dhaka and Chattogram, where they sell groceries at a price relatively lower than the market.

Mahir Shahriar Reza, the president of Bangladesh Students Union (BSU), the student wing of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), opposes the idea of these kinds of efforts from a political party. "We believe it is the government's responsibility to dismantle syndicates and ensure the availability of essential goods to meet the needs of the people," he said.

"During the August flood, we raised funds for the affected people. In the winter, we distribute warm clothes to the people in need," he added further. He noted that his organisation also works for animal welfare awareness, citing the recent stray cats and dogs culling incident in Mohammadpur.

Meghmallar Bosu, the BSU president of Dhaka University, stated that the organisation did not have sufficient logistics for social welfare purely for community engagement and that this was not their objective. He further mentioned that they typically raise funds and provide assistance to those in need during national crises.

"We have some schooling projects in Sylhet, where BSU activists teach tea-workers' children for free. In Dhaka, the Dhaka Mahanagar branch of BSU runs a university admission coaching named Jagaran, where they instruct university admission seekers, for free," said Meghmallar, adding, "Again, we do not have enough funding and logistics support to take the classes."

Speaking of funding, the funding strategy of Jamaat is perhaps a curious one. Akanda said, "Every Jamaat member contributes 5% of their income to the party. Whether you are a rickshaw-puller or a multi-millionaire businessman – you contribute your fair share."

At this point, many people are convinced that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is going to win the upcoming election, likely by a significant margin. Despite this confidence, the BNP continues to actively engage in social welfare initiatives as well.

"Although our primary initiative at this moment is to maintain religious and communal harmony, we are [also] participating in some social welfare activities. For instance, we are distributing winter vegetable seeds and paddy seeds among poor farmers," said Azizul Bari Helal, the central information affairs secretary of BNP.

"We are also running awareness campaigns on cleanliness in local schools and colleges," he said, adding, "In addition to that, we are also running some medical camps as well."

Political parties and people's welfare

Political parties are increasingly engaging in social welfare campaigns to win over voters. Photo: Collected

These efforts raise a few critical questions. Why do they do it in the first place? The Jamaat leader thinks that as Muslims and members of the society, it is their moral duty to help others when needed. Shibir leader Shadik and JCD leader Faisal echoed the same.

How are people responding to it? "We are getting both appreciation and suggestions from general students," said Faisal. "The Hasina regime has tarnished our political image over the past 15 years. But when we engaged directly with the public, students appreciated our efforts, recognising that our primary goal is to serve their interests," said the ICS leader.

"Even besides this [the vote-bank factor], political parties have some liabilities to society. The major purpose of the parties is to work for the people, and I do not think that you have to be in power to do that," said Kamrul Hasan, an associate professor of the Department of Government and Politics at Jahangirnagar University.

He continued, "The primary target of these campaigns are the poor people because it is easier to motivate them compared to the middle or the upper-middle class, and these kinds of activities quickly draw the media's attention."

"But, unfortunately, these political parties lack the proper comprehensive proposals for the [betterment of] poor people's lives, which ultimately make their activities futile and just a show."

The last few election cycles were questionable in terms of the spontaneous participation of the political parties — this was largely a result of Awami League's key strategy ie the oppression of the political opponents. Thus, such "social welfare" campaigns by different political parties remained limited or non-existent in many cases in the recent past.

Historically, political parties putting efforts into social welfare is not something new. During apartheid, the African National Congress operated in exile but provided education, training and aid to South African refugees. They established schools and healthcare facilities in exile camps in countries like Tanzania.

In the 1990s, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of Nepal organised food and medical relief during floods and earthquakes in Nepal, despite limited political influence at the time. Later, they gained popularity and political dominance.

The Russian Bolsheviks participated in such activities before the October Revolution in 1917. They distributed food and provided shelter to workers and peasants suffering under the Tsarist regime, which eventually strengthened their ties to the working class.

Whether it is a political party's responsibility to put up roadside caution signs or run fair-price grocery shops is a debate for another day. What truly perhaps matters in critical times is for political parties and campaigns' efforts to remain people-centric.