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Who will lead Awami League after Sheikh Hasina?

Published : Wednesday, 12 May, 2021 at 12:00 AM  Count : 2276

Nizam Ahmed

Nizam Ahmed

As the chief of Bangladesh Awami League and the country's incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina now on her unprecedented fourth term, is ageing, people interested in politics want to know who will lead the party when she becomes unable to serve the country's biggest political organisation and the world's 8th largest populated state any more on health ground.

By the grace of Almighty Allah she has been going strong mentally, physically and politically at the age of nearly 74. However, age is a matter and at certain stage everyone has to retire. Cuban revolutionary politician Fidel Castro, who served the one-party communist state Cuba as Prime Minister from 1959 to 1976 and then as President from 1976 to 2008, had to hand over power to Vice President Raul Castro, also his brother due to old age complicacies. Fidel Castro died in 2016 at the age of 90.

Despite of her age, physicians hope Sheikh Hasina still can serve the nation for the next ten years if no untoward incidents occur and she remain free of diseases. To turn Bangladesh into Sonar Bangla (Golden Bangladesh, a notion for total prosperity) as dreamt by the her father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Sheikh Hasina did a lot and led the country to the door step of a developing country. Bangladesh has recently started its journey for the graduation from the status of a least developed country. Bangladesh is scheduled to officially become a developing country in 2026 as the UN committee recommended a timeline of five years, instead of three years apprehended earlier, due to the impact of the Covid-19 on its economy.

To fulfill the dreams of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, like the incumbent government, all the future governments, must keep efforts on, with the quality, wisdom and prudence, possessed by the government of Sheikh Hasina. As the times moving fast Awami League (AL) must find out a leader having high caliber among the staunch supporters of Sheikh Hasina to lead the nation.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gives the crucial leadership with appropriate decisions whenever the nation faces challenges like procurement of Covid vaccines, approval of pertinent mega projects and allowing more than a million of forcibly evicted Rohingyas from Myanmar, etc. She takes the decision to involve which foreign partners in which mega projects. As a result, China, Japan, India and several others countries are implementing different projects simultaneously in the country.

At the prevailing circumstances people want to know who among the senior AL leaders will be able to fill the gap to be created by Sheikh Hasina in future. The people wish that someone should emerge within the party to be elected as the President of AL, when the time will require or when Hasina will give up her post. Many political observers think, when such time comes Hasina will herself ask her party leaders to elect her substitute out of few most trusted senior leaders to be nominated by her.

Among her children, US-educated Computer Engineer son Sajeeb Wazed Joy also Adviser to the Prime Minister on information and communication technology, and daughter, the world famous Autism activist Saima Wazed Putul are reportedly not interested to take up full-time politics as profession. Hasina's younger and only sister Sheikh Rehana, mother of Tulip Rizwana Siddiq a young British Labour Party Member of Parliament, has never been heard that she would join in Bangladesh politics.

The political observers, who have been brainstorming on this issue, currently see no one to have the quality, prudence and wisdom possessed by Sheikh Hasina. However, they believe the saying 'chair makes the man,' would help AL and Bangladesh to have a leader having if not most some of the qualities of Sheikh Hasina, which she biologically inherited from her father Bangabandhu, the Greatest Bangalee in thousands of years.

AL's rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) lost its command on the country's politics being thrashed by law enforcers for its alleged involvement in the nationwide mayhem resorted to enforce a transport blockade called by its Chairperson and former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia in early January 2015 to protest against the government for not allowing her to address a rally in Dhaka on January 5. She had been demanding resignation of the AL government and an early national election.

To implement the blockade, arson attacks on transports except aircraft were resorted till end on March, 2015. At least 300 people were killed, thousands, maimed and properties, mostly transports worth billions of taka were damaged during the three-month-long countrywide violence.

Subsequently Begum Khaleda Zia was found guilty in two graft cases involving a foreign funded orphanage by separate courts, which sentenced her to seven-year jail term in February 2018. The jail term was later extended to 10 years. After nearly two years in jail her prison term was suspended for six months in 2020. The suspension of prison term was extended for three straight times.

However, immediately after the court verdict against Khaleda, BNP announced her son Tarique Rahman, the Senior Vice Chairman of the party as the Acting Chairperson of the party. Tarique Zia, now in self exile in England is poised to replace Khaleda Zia, but problem is that he may not return to the country as he was sentenced to a life term by a court in Dhaka for allegedly masterminding a deadly grenade attack on an opposition rally addressed by Sheikh Hasina on August 24, 2004.

As the AL has been in power on its 4th term including three consecutive stints since 2009, it wields unilateral command on the country's politics. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina the AL government seems to have drawn total allegiances of the Armed Forces, law enforcing agencies, all government officials, big business houses and general people. During the terms the government, the country attained economic growth which is in positive trend amid the raging pandemic. Several major infrastructure projects including the 6.15 km Double deck rail cum road Padma Bridge, Rooppur Nuclear Powe Plant, Materbari Deep sea Port, Karnaphuli River tunnel, Dhaka Metro Rail Project etc either have been completed or near to be completed.

BNP boycotted national elections in 2014, protesting against cancellation of constitutional provision for holding national parliamentary elections under a caretaker administration within 90 days after the completion of the five-year term of the outgoing government. The AL government with its brute majority in the parliament brought the constitutional amendment that the elections would be held under Election Commission, appointed by incumbent government.

The first election under an unprecedented caretaker government was held in the country in February 1991, after the military ruler turned President Hussein Muhammad Ershad had resigned following a mass movement simultaneously led by AL Chief Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia. Subsequent elections were also held under caretaker governments in 1996 and 2001, after BNP pressed by AL and its allies made it a constitutional obligation to hold national election under a caretaker government.

But in 2006, BNP manipulated the then caretaker government by appointing country's incumbent President Iajuddin, who is also a senior leader of BNP as the Chief Adviser (chief executive) of the caretaker government. The move of the BNP enticed then Chief of Army Staff Moin U Ahmed to step in and form an army-backed interim government headed by former Bangladesh Bank (central bank) Governor Fakruddin Ahmed as the Chief Adviser.

AL lost the election in 1991 to BNP, which was defeated narrowly by AL in 1996, but won again beating its arch rival AL in 2001. However, in the election held in December 2008 under the army backed interim government, AL routed BNP with more than two-third majority. Since then the election became a one-sided affair for AL as BNP boycotted polls in 2014 and 2019. However, BNP contested in some by-polls and won a handful of seats in the current parliament.

In the next national election due in 2024, BNP may have serious leadership crisis, and AL also uncertain that it will have no leadership problem as Sheikh Hasina recently said she will decide her candidature when 2024 comes. Political observers feel that new political parties with new generation politicians should come up. AL in the meantime on boarded many young leaders and some of them are allowed to serve the government and the party as well. In the belligerent BNP there has been no new recruitment. Moreover many active leaders and activists have deserted party.

Political observers are frustrated as some capable emerging new generation leaders are being misguided by vested quarters active at home and abroad, as a result many emerging young leaders are inviting ire of the powerful incumbent government. Young politicians are advised to be calm, logical and prudent in their actions, so that they stay aloof of conspiracies of vested quarters.
The writer is Business Editor,

The Daily Observer












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