What did we learn?

The re-election of Sheikh Hasina to the presidency of the Awami League and the election of Obaidul Quader as the general secretary of the party are not entirely surprising. Hasina has led the Awami League since 1981, taking the helm of the party during a period of political uncertainty just six years after her family was brutally gunned down in a coup by mutinous army officers. The Dhaka Tribune has earlier written that her re-election and the election of Obaidul would be likely outcomes of the party council. The results give clear indication about the concerns of the party as it gears up for an election year in 2019. The obvious takeaway from Hasina’s return to the top post in the Awami League for the eighth consecutive term is that continuity counts. The importance of her leadership acumen and the historic connection between her family and the party are no small matter to the party’s brand. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy has been the focus of attention with councillors and commentators alike speculating that he may slowly be inducted into the corridors of power. Indeed, although Joy did not end up with a top leadership role despite widespread speculation that he would, his brief appearance in the council conclave witnessed councillors chanting his name. This widespread enthusiasm of the councillors for Joy demonstrate not just approval for the man but also for the legacy he represents. For his part, Joy downplayed the clamorous outpouring of support and cited his still transcontinental lifestyle as precluding him from full participation in the day-to-day administration of the party co-founded by his grandfather. Nevertheless, Hasina openly raised the question of succession during the two-day party council that ended yesterday, calling for the emergence of a new generation of leaders to take the party forward. On Sunday, party councillors heard the prime minister say she hoped to see the helm of the party pass to the younger generation during her lifetime, indicating that a major theme for the party would be securing a consensually agreed upon succession. That new blood was not injected into the party this time around may be interpreted by some as indicating a dearth of suitable younger leaders for the job. But it may also indicate that prudence pays. Young, untested leaders often fail to live up to expectations, and afterwards pulling in older hands to fix the results of inexperience has been often a case of too little, too late. Just look at Britain’s Labour Party. The nomination of Obaidul Quader by the very man he replaced – Syed Ashraful Islam, another scion of an old Awami League family – impressively demonstrated party discipline and harmony. There was no evident rancour in the transfer of power. Importantly, Obaidul’s taking up of the reins of administrator-in-chief of the party suggests that Hasina is serious about grooming the younger generation of the party.Why?For one, Obaidul Quader’s connection with the party grassroots is well-known and well-respected. If there is a leader that is in a position of advantage to steer this generational transition, it is he. For another, unlike the reserved and some might say media-shy nature of Ashraful’s political style, Obaidul is as media-friendly as would be needed to reach out to the ‘wired generation’. If there have ever been suggestions that Ashraful’s administrative skills were ever found wanting, there has never been any doubt that he had proven to be utterly steady in the midst of severe adversity. One political commentator, asking not to be named, described him as “The Rock of Gibraltar” during the army-backed caretaker interregnum of 2007. Political parties always seem to be weathering some crisis or another – and where Ashraful was the man to face the uncertainty of that eventful year, Obaidul seems to have been picked to face the strain of revamping the party for election mode. Indeed, at the council, Sheikh Hasina warned her party of the dangers of failing to prepare to win the coming general elections. By the time the Awami League contests the 2019 elections, it will have been a decade since it has contested an election against a formidable adversary. And ten years is an eternity in politics. It remains to be seen whether the party’s traditional electoral adversary, the BNP, which boycotted the last general election, will prove to be anything near formidable when the polls season returns.