In the current political landscape, the electorate still cannot think outside Awami League and BNP. People still consider the party when voting, not the candidates.
The fact that the Jatiya Party (JP), being the opposition in parliament, still has not earned a political standing in the people’s mind was evident from the recently held city corporation polls.
Meanwhile, the left-wing parties have taken an ambivalent position after losing at the ballots. On the one hand, they are saying their true vote count could not be ascertained because of the irregularities. On the other, they say they have been used by the two powerful parties to put up a competitive show. The leftists are also doubtful if their own leaders-activists had voted properly.
Although the BNP-backed candidates rejected the three city corporation elections in Dhaka and Chittagong, JP candidates continued the fight till the end. However, their mayoral candidates bagged only about 13,500 votes in total.
The Communist Party of Bangladesh-backed mayoral candidate Abdulla Al Kafi posted on Facebook after the voting (translated): “All this time I heard that more than 100,000 ex-Chhatra Union activists live in Dhaka. Naturally, most will be in the north. Let’s say there are 50,000. Did they not vote for the elephant symbol? If so, then where are those votes? Did the Election Commission throw away my votes on instruction from the government? I do not know who is behind this betrayal.”
