New Delhi: The Jamaat-e-Islami is going all out to ensure that it secures a massive victory in the Bangladesh elections slated to be held in February. The organisation has devised separate strategies for the urban and rural areas and is targeting 163 constituencies exclusively where internal surveys have suggested a victory for the party.
As of now, the Jamaat and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are fighting the polls solo. The two parties had fought elections and even governed the country together in the past. However, the two parties decided to contest the elections independently this time.
The Jamaat has withdrawn its cadres from at least 130 constituencies in large numbers. These are the constituencies where the Jamaat has no chance of winning, and hence it felt that it was a waste of resources to contest them. Instead, these cadres have been moved to the 163 constituencies where the party has a good chance of winning the elections, officials say.
The Jamaat is also focusing on Dhaka heavily and at least 20 constituencies around it. An internal Jamaat survey and certain polls have indicated that the party is in with a very good chance in these constituencies, and hence, the cadre strength in these areas has increased dramatically.
Officials say that the Jamaat has also increased spending in its strongholds. The Jamaat has an advantage on this front as it controls the Muhammad Yunus-led caretaker government that was put in place following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina. Since Yunus took over, the Jamaat has been fully in charge when it comes to decision-making and also foreign policy, which has witnessed a massive shift towards Pakistan over India.
Taking advantage of the power it wields and also the control it has over the institutions in the country, it was easy for the Jamaat to increase its spending during the election year. It has allowed at least 100 crore BDT in those constituencies where it has a chance of winning. Another official said that even in those constituencies where the Jamaat is capable of winning easily, it has been spending extensively as it wants to take no chances.
The organisation has also embarked on a data collection drive and has been collecting mobile numbers identification of the people. During this drive, the main focus is on the poor voters as the Jamaat would look to target these persons with freebies.
The Jamaat has also been using its women’s wing extensively in the urban areas. The women’s student wing of the Jamaat, Bangladesh Islami Chhatri Sangstha (BICS), has been on overdrive mode, whereby it is conducting door-to-door surveys in the urban areas. Further, its student wing, the Islamic Chattra Shibir (ICS), too, has been working in the same manner. The ICS is taking advantage of the fact that it controls nearly every university in the country. The sheer manpower which it enjoys courtesy of this control is working to the advantage of the Jamaat.
Following internal assessments, the Jamaat feels that it can win at least 205 seats in the 350-member Jataiya Sangsad, which is the Bangladesh parliament. Of the 350 seats, 50 are reserved exclusively for women.
A month back, no one would have expected that the Jamaat would surge ahead of the BNP. In the BNP, there are internal discords being reported as a result of which it is falling back on nearly 90 seats.
An Intelligence Bureau official said that there is an understanding between the Jamaat and Muhammad Yunus. The Jamaat has sought several exceptions from Yunus and has assured him that in case of a win, he would be made President of the country.
In the Indian context, a win for the Jamaat is not a good sign. A Jamaat government would naturally be pro-Pakistan, and this poses an internal security challenge for India. Further, the Jamaat and ISI have always plotted to merge West Bengal with Bangladesh, and in case the Islamist party wins the polls, it would try to further this agenda. Although achieving this would be impossible, the Jamaat government would still look to keep the state on the boil and try to incite communal tensions, another official said.
Bangladesh watchers say that the strategy of the Jamaat ahead of the polls is an interesting one. It is not pushing a radical agenda as of now since it realises that a large majority is not in favour of the same and does not want to be governed by Sharia law. However, once in power, it would push its agenda, and hence the people of the country must be very careful as to who they would want to vote for, the experts also say.
(IANS)
