The BNP has demonstrated political foresight by tagging their election pledges to the controversial Ramphal power plant project, signalling a willingness to respond to oft-neglected priorities like ecological concerns.
By doing it, they also seem able to move their politics towards an issue-driven agenda and away from the cults of personality that tends to dominate Bangladeshi elections.
This is the way forward in a maturing democracy. It gives the voting public an opportunity to cast their ballot according to issues they feel strongly about, and obliges the parties they vote into power to work towards resolving them.
Taking a stand on the Ramphal issue may alienate voters that believe the project is an industrial boon for the region, but it will put the BNP in very good stead among voters that believe it will have a catastrophic effect on the bio-diversity of the Sunderbans.
By giving political expression to this difference of opinion, the BNP may well be ushering in an era where parties are measured by their ability to address the different - often equally valid - sides of a complex issue.
This is just the sort of demand-driven political manoeuvring we would like to see more of in the future.
