After the BNP fared well in two consecutive upazila elections its top brass now believe that the results of the local government polls will help them intensify their campaign against the government.
They think they were able to kill two birds with one stone: The outcomes of the upazila polls have charged up their rank and file and antagonised people against the government as it tried to manipulate the polls results.
After the January 5 elections the party went on back foot and the grassroots of the party were frustrated as they saw no visible outcome of their two and a half months of street movement.
The party leaders said this result will put a positive impact on the leaders and activists of all tires which will ultimately help them to form public opinion in favour of their demand and to turn the public opinion into a movement.
“We participated in the elections aiming to unmask the government’s attitudes of vote rigging and ballot stuffing. In the first phase our 11 contenders boycotted the polls and in the second phase 19 due to the rigging by ruling party men,” said Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain, a standing committee member of the party.
This attitude of the government proved that free and fair elections could not have been held under a partisan government, he observed.
Party leaders said if the leaders and activists could have worked properly the Awami League would have to face its worst.
The party leaders also said this result will help the party to form public opinion and will give a sense of logic to the people that their longstanding demand of election under a non-partisan government was logical and reasonable.
Rafiqul Islam Miah, another standing committee member of the party, said the two phases elections have projected very clearly that the government tried in possible ways by using state machineries to manipulate the results and in some cases they were successful and in some cases they failed.
“People have expressed their views that they do not want to see the government in the office anymore and also realized that free and fair elections under a partisan government is not possible,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.