Party discipline Awami League’s next challenge

In the latest of such messages, Obaidul warned Dhaka-based Awami League leaders to stop flexing muscles in their home districts, with a threat that the leaders could be removed from their positions for such transgressions. Obaidul has been emphasising on hard work for the party and good conduct with the public, promising rewards in return. He has told the party to form committees on every level with educated people and warned against bringing in “bad people” to the party to consolidate power. Professor Gobinda Chakraborty, a political science teacher at Dhaka University, says on the backdrop of the chaos that followed the last election, many thought the tenure might not continue full term and an interim election might follow. But now, activists may have slipped into a mindset that the party might be in power for a long period of time,” the professor said. This may be a reason why internal feuds are increasing. “Although as a party, Awami League is considered the bearer of the spirit of the Liberation War. But since they have been in power for long, people from various backgrounds have infiltrated the party.” If Awami League wants to materialise its grand visions, it needs to have a consolidated, well-organised party, Gobinda said. “The next election that is due in 2019 will not be a mere continuation of the last election, it will be competitive,” he said. It is the task of the general secretary to root out ‘hybrids’ or ‘infiltrators,’ or who came into politics to cash in from businesses, the analyst said. “Otherwise it will be difficult to clinch victory in the election,” he said. The party activists ought to take the centre’s intentions seriously, Gobinda said, but feared that for some this may fall on deaf ears. “It is also a fact that in the last years of a tenure, the political scenario generally heats up. Although the opposition political parties appear to be weak, a disciplined, organised party is needed to deal with that scenario.” Sheikh Hasina also hinted recently that she might want to retire, which may be also a reason to build a well-organised party and ease the transition. “In that sense, the move means giving the party activists a moral boost, a moral legitimacy by creating a positive party governance.” One of the many reasons why Quader is doing this is probably the role of social media where any misdeed reportedly done by any activist receives a strong backlash. “Moreover, the party may be recalling how in its 1996 tenure, its image was marred by the misdeeds of some party activists,” he added.