With the Awami League keeping “open” candidacies even for those contesting the January 7 general election without the party ticket, and a record number of independent candidates winning and still reigning supreme, young leaders of the party are dreaming big now.
Former leaders of the party’s associate bodies, mainly the Chhatra League and Jubo League, who are now active in the Awami League, said the election has injected momentum not only in parliament but also in the ruling party.
A dozen leaders of the Awami League and its associate organizations said that the party has always conventionally preferred senior leaders in its committees and while picking election candidates.
But after the last general polls, young Awami League leaders are eyeing better chances for themselves in both cases.
Party sources said the young leaders are becoming more active, benefiting the party.
In the January 7 voting, the Awami League won 224 of the 300 contested seats in parliament. Of the 62 successful independent candidates, 59 leaders are linked to the Awami League.
The party sold nomination forms to 3,362 aspirants for the election. It translated into almost 11 nomination-seekers for each seat.
The Awami League fielded 298 candidates, as it did not give party tickets to 71 incumbent lawmakers.
As many as 102 new candidates with the Boat symbol were in the polls race, where 263 Awami League candidates contested.
As the candidature was “open”, there were nearly 400 independent candidates, including 269 Awami League leaders.
The party roped in 48 candidates for women’s reserved seats. As many as 34 of them were elected as first-timers.
Change in strategy
Instead of penalizing rival or rebel candidates as in the past, the Awami League during the last election welcomed independent candidates who had been deprived of the party ticket.
Even the Awami League chief exchanged views with them before and after the election. As a result, 62 independent candidates surrendered their reserved women’s seats to the Awami League.
Two presidium members, a joint general secretary and three organizing secretaries said controversial and unpopular leaders were denied nominations.
Due to their “open” candidature, 59 independent contestants came out victorious by challenging Awami League candidates.
“So, it is pretty normal that the party will keep them under special consideration in the future. But it totally depends on the party chief,” said one of the senior Awami League leaders.
In a post-polls meeting with Awami League President Sheikh Hasina, independent candidates demanded that the Awami League bring them back to the party.
A former Chhatra League leader said: “Young leaders of the party managed to show their worth during the election. There is no denying this. Accepting reality means bolstering the party’s strength at the grass-roots level.”
Awami League Joint General Secretary AFM Bahduddin Nasim said: “Like seniors, juniors are also joining the leadership. The party will proceed by engaging all."
“The younger generation should be given a space (everywhere) because they will lead the country in the future. Sheikh Hasina always prefers young people,” he added.
Re-organizing the party
The Awami League is now working on re-organizing the party, from the divisional and city units to the grassroots level. The main target of the communication is holding councils and forming full-fledged committees, along with addressing factional conflicts.
Some former Chhatra League leaders said that if the Awami League follows the party chief’s instructions about promoting young leaders, the party will greatly benefit in the future.
The Awami League has 78 organizing districts and 495 upazila units. Of those, the terms of 30 district and upazila committees have already expired, while 27 district and city units face internal feuds.
Additionally, 18 district and city units held councils but have yet to have a full-fledged committee.
Two senior Awami League leaders said the party usually sees fewer young leaders for various reasons.
“But it is not completely true that no new leadership is emerging in the party,” said an organizing secretary, hinting at the importance of the blend of seasoned politicians and young leaders in the party’s smooth operation.
