Beneath The Surface
Rise and fall
HEARTIEST congratulations to Sheikh Hasina and her party for the epoch-making victory in the just concluded general election. We are immensely pleased to note that she called upon her party workers to remain calm and quiet after the election. So far, barring a few stray incidents, no rein of revenge could be read from newspaper reports.
This, perhaps, went beyond the estimates of the so-called sushil shomaj who weigh the two major political parties on the same scale. We have seen the atrocities in the post-2001 election in our campus and in rural areas. The moment the election results were declared, rapes, burnings, lootings were order of the days and there was none to arrest the atrocities. In that sense, the situation is much better now.
Hasina's first press conference also raised her height a bit further. It was a statesmanlike speech in a country where the winner typically goes to wipe out the loser on every front. No attack on the past government(s), no rhetoric but a cordial invitation to work together.
Why did BNP-Jamat alliance nose-dive from 193 to 30 seats? First is rampant corruption and "corporatisation" of corruption that was, allegedly, led by the family members of the former PM. Second, the onslaughts on political opponents including grenade attacks on Sheikh Hasina and others and the mockery of an investigation. Third, the rise of the militants with alleged support from the government. Third, the skyrocketing prices of food grains that marked its upward movement since 2004. And finally, the last nail in the coffin was placed by the drama staged to cling to power through a managed EC, the president and all that led to the emergence of 1/11.
The order of the causal factors that I submitted before changed over the course of the last two years. Thus, for example, it was not terrorism or corruption that aggrieved people so much as it was the skyrocketing prices of essentials. I interviewed a dozen rickshaw pullers just on the day of the election and all of them vowed to vote for boat with the hope that prices would stabilise if boat wins the election. The perception comes from the previous rule of Awami League when prices were reasonably stable and the purchasing power of the poor remained up. My visits to villages in last couple of months sent the same message.
Happily, the new government would meet some positive developments in domestic and international fronts as far as prices of essentials are concerned: declining prices of energy and a relatively better boro harvest. Appropriate demand-supply projections, stock building and tough stance on syndicates could make the task easier than before.
Despite the failure of the CG on many fronts, a large segment of the population think that the law and order condition of the country is much better than before. The greatest irony of the BNP-Jamat government was that their own cadres (students, politicians, and also intellectuals) killed them. Controlling own party cadres is a sine qua non for a smooth sailing through the rough weather. I hope Sheikh Hasina would target this as her second most important doable immediately after assumption of power.
Thus, if prices could be controlled and relatively peace could be ensured, half of the services to the public would be delivered. Bear in mind that this time most of the poor people voted for the boat and demand only two things: low price and peaceful atmosphere to eking out a living.
A number of the critics raised questions about the resources needed to meet Sheikh Hasina's monumental manifesto of 2021 vision. This is in fact a right question. I think that if massive corruption could be contained, a large amount of resources could be generated/saved. Experts tend to argue that in any project, half of the outlays go for paying "extras." Formalising informal remittances is another way. Quick decisions on project preparation and implementation remain to be the key.
I shall not expand the list right now. Suffice it to say, however, a landslide victory is both a blessing and a curse. The massive defeat of the 4-party alliance that earned a landslide victory just a few years back should be an eye opener on how and when it is a curse. The blessing is that this government would have much more leverage in drawing the course of action as it deems fit.
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