In the mainstream politics of Britain, the enemies of Bangladeshis have mostly turned out to be the inhabitants of their own homeland. Envy and jealousy plays a big role in this enmity.
As a result, not only is the division among the Bangali population in Britain increasing, but it is also becoming a major obstacle to the rise of Bangladeshis in British politics.
In the last four decades, there have been numerous instances in British politics where someone from the Bangladeshi community was self-destructive to disrupt the journey of others.
On October 28, 2010, Lutfur Rahman was elected as the mayor of Tower Hamlets for the first time. Born in Sylhet, lawyer Lutfur is the first executive mayor of Bangladeshi descent in any borough of Britain.
In Tower Hamlets, known as the safe haven of the Labour Party, Lutfur was elected as an independent candidate with 51% of the vote. His closest rival in that election was Helal Abbas, another Bangladeshi descent. He received only 11,254 or 24% of the total votes cast. Lutfur was re-elected in 2014 despite the hostile situation.
Both times, several British Bangladeshis lost their security deposits against Lutfur as independent candidates. When he could not be held back, allegations of corruption and irregularities were brought against him. The case was filed by Ajmal Hossain, a businessman of Bangladeshi origin.
Mayor Lutfur Rahman was dismissed by the court. At that time, the court barred him from running in the next election. Lutfur's London home was auctioned to cover the costs of the case.
In the last two elections, several candidates of Bangladeshi descent contested for the post of mayor, but none of them emerged as the main contender. Lutfur was later acquitted after a lengthy investigation. It is learned that Lutfur will contest in the upcoming elections of Tower Hamlets.
At least 30 British Bangladeshi men and women, without any political experience, have been elected councilors by Lutfur. He gave many important responsibilities to many of them including the post of deputy mayor. However, in his hard times, no one was there except Ahid Ahmed, who was nominated as a Labour MP.
Another example is Rushanara Ali, from Bhurki village under Bishwanath upazila of Bangladesh’s Sylhet, who was first elected to the Labour Party in 2010 from Bethnal Green and Bow constituency.
She was the first British Bangladeshi lawmaker in Britain. She was also re-elected in the last three elections. In the first two elections, the party's nomination process and later in the polls, several British Bangladeshi candidates ran against her.
Bangabandhu's granddaughter Tulip Rizwana Siddique was elected MP for the first time in the 2015 election from Hampstead and Kilburn constituency in London. Her seat is home to a very small number of Bangladeshi voters.
As the granddaughter of Bangabandhu and the daughter of the sister of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, she fell victim to the anti-politics of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in the 2015 and 2017 elections.
UK BNP leaders and activists went to East London to campaign against her. They wanted to vote for the Conservative Party candidate, competing against Tulip.
‘Bangladeshis are jealous’
Commenting on this, prominent journalist and researcher Dr Renu Lutfa said that Bangladeshis are racially jealous and are not yet qualified to see the happiness of others, as the first step to be happy by seeing others’ happiness is to be happy oneself.
In the two general elections of the 80s and 90s, four candidates of Bangladeshi descent were shortlisted for the Labour Party's nomination for the Bethnal Green and Bow seat in East London.
They are -- late Jahangir Alam, Councilor Rajan Uddin Jalal, Pala Manjila Uddin and Kumar Murshid. Both times, Jahangir Alam and Councilor Rajan Uddin Jalal were dropped from the shortlist.
Rajan Uddin Jalal, another senior leader of the anti-racism movement in Britain, said: "There are Mir Jafars in every chapter of our history. I was supposed to be an MP in Britain in the 80s. I could not do it for them. The resentful clique has also used the Bangladeshis to destroy Lutfur Rahman.
“Currently, a case has been filed against Apsana Begum, an MP of Bangladeshi descent from Poplar and Limehouse. A section of Bangladeshis have been active against Apsana from the very beginning. In British politics, Bangladeshis have always been the opponents of the rise of Bangladeshis.”
Ahid Ahmed, a former deputy mayor of Tower Hamlets Council, said: "In 2010, the Labour Party gave me an MP ticket. I was the chairman of Labour Friends of Bangladesh. However, when Lutfur Rahman was treated unfairly, I left the Labour Party in protest of that injustice. We have been together for the last 20 years.”
However, Ahid Ahmed admits that almost all the seniors who were beside Lutfur in good times were not beside him in bad times.