Alliance partners and opposition in parliament, the Jatiya Party, mounted pressure on the ruling Awami League to share seats in the January 7 general election, with no breakthrough seen in the matter until Sunday.
The AL’s relationship with its partners has turned sour due to the impasse over seat-sharing issues, with the ruling party reportedly undermining other parties’ chances of winning the election on its own.
Jatiya Party warned the AL that it would think about boycotting the polls if at least 27 seats were not shared with it, at least two presidium members of the party confirmed to New Age.
‘The discussion with the AL is still underway. We initially made a demand for 35 seats, two ministries, and the deputy speaker post in the JS. Now we have made it clear that at least 27 seats are a must for JP,’ a JP presidium member said.
He said that JP asked the AL to withdraw its official candidates and independent candidates linked to the party to clear the path for JP candidates to win their respective seats.
JP and other seat-seekers wanted a solution by December 15, two days before the last date for withdrawal of nomination papers on December 17.
Jatiya Party candidates, especially the party’s top leaders, are worried about winning the election even if AL-linked independent candidates decide to run against them.
Talking to reporters at the Jatiya Party chairman’s Banani office on Saturday, JP secretary general Mujibul Haque Chunnu said that the agreement on such a concession was not only seen in Bangladesh but also in other countries.
‘BJP has not fielded candidates in many constituencies in India. They have not nominated any candidate for those seats for the alliance partners or have supported nominees of other parties as per informal understanding,’ he said.
Asked about when the final decision could be reached regarding seat sharing, Chunnu said, ‘There is no such thing as a final decision in elections or politics. Any decision can be made at any time.’
On November 16, the Awami League announced the names of candidates for 298 seats and later the Jatiya Party for 287 seats.
According to the election results of 2008, 2014, and 2018, Jatiya Party candidates won only in those constituencies where the Awami League did not field candidates following a mutual agreement.
Independent observers said that it showed JP’s inability to compete with Awami even if the main opposition boycotted an election.
The AL was also not in a comfortable position over seat sharing with other allies.
In a meeting held at AL organising secretary Mirza Azam’s office in parliament, AL general secretary Obaidul Quader told partners that AL president and prime minister Sheikh Hasina had a survey showing that most alliance partners were not capable of winning polls due to a lack of popularity.
Disagreeing with the observation, Workers Party of Bangladesh president Rashed Khan Menon claimed that many alliance candidates were popular in their constituencies. Workers Party politburo member Quamrul Ahsan informed New Age.
Menon told New Age on Monday that he had requested AL leaders to resolve the issue within a couple of days.
‘We have also requested the AL leaders to withdraw the independent candidates in the seats where the leaders of the partners will take part in the symbol ‘boat’, AL’s electoral symbol,’ he said.
But AL leaders did not want to take responsibility for withdrawing the candidates, Menon said.
The coordinator of the alliance, Amir Hossain Amu, also an AL advisory council member, told New Age that the issue of seat sharing with the leaders of partners was yet to be resolved but would be resolved soon.
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-Jasod president Hasanul Haq Inu told New Age that AL leaders agreed to give some leaders of the alliance the symbol ‘boat.’
The issue of seat-sharing would be resolved soon, Inu hoped.
Several leaders seeking anonymity said that they were disappointed with AL’s behaviour about seat sharing.
‘In a recent public meeting, AL leader Obaidul Quader asked why the AL would share the seat with an alliance partner if they could not win. Such public remarks contradict the spirit of the alliance,’ a Jasod leader said.
Menon was elected from Dhaka 8 with the AL electoral symbol boat as an alliance partner in the past three general elections in 2008, 2014, and 2018.
For the next election, the Awami League nominated AL joint general secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim for the seat.
Nominations for two seats—Kushtia 2 and Narayanganj 5—have yet to be announced by the Awami League.
Jasod president Hasanul Haq Inu and Jatiya Party’s Salim Osman are elected lawmakers for the seats.
The AL-led alliance was formed in 2005 and came to power for three consecutive terms in 2009, 2014, and 2018, amid allegations of widespread irregularities.
The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies are boycotting the upcoming election, demanding the resignation of the ruling Awami League by handing over power to a party-neutral administration to conduct the elections.
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