Discomforts within

“It was a tremendous year for the party.”

This was how Awami League leader Mahbubul Alam Hanif summed up when asked to look back on 2019.

True, in a sense the country’s oldest political party, now in office for a third consecutive term, faced hardly any trouble from political opponents or any outside forces.

The party has been fully dominating the parliament as well as the streets, winning a landslide victory in the December 30 national polls a year back.

It also triumphed in the local body elections -- city corporations, upazilas and municipalities -- held in the first half of the year, virtually becoming the “mighty one party” in the country.

The party should be as happy as it could be. 

But still there were some serious discomforts, mostly stemming from internal issues. 

For example, some leaders of its front organisations were found linked to illegal casinos and tender manipulations, which angered party chief Sheikh Hasina and made her take some stringent measures within the party.

During the anti-corruption crackdown beginning on September 18, the highest number of allegations were against leaders of the party’s youth front, Jubo League.

At least five Jubo League leaders were expelled from the organisation. They are now in jail for alleged corruption and various irregularities.

The party also relieved the president of Swechchhasebak League, Molla Mohammed Abu Kawsar, of his duties on October 23 and asked General Secretary Pankaj Devnath, not to take part in any activity centring its council, held on November 16.

Also in September, Hasina removed Chhatra League president and general secretary Rezwanul Haque Chowdhury Shovon and Golam Rabbani from their positions following “commission” controversies, among others. The two were later sacked from the organisation.

These developments came at a time when the “reputation for corruption” increased in all the tiers of the party. Unchallenged, a section of party leaders was quite “successful” in annoying mostly the common people -- from villages to small towns to big cities.

The anti-graft drives revealed the extent of power abuse by them. 

After winning the 11th national polls, the prime minister formed the cabinet leaving out a number of top and veteran leaders of her party and allies.

Her new cabinet excluded senior AL leaders like Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, AMA Muhith, Matia Chowdhury, Mohammed Nasim, Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, Engineer Mosharraf Hossain and Nurul Islam Nahid and Workers Party chief Rashed Khan Menon, JSD chief Hasanul Haq Inu and JP (Manju) chief Anwar Hossain Manju.

‘INFILTRATORS’

It was possibly the most uttered word by its leaders.

The central committee made a list of its 5,000 members who “infiltrated into AL from opposition parties”. There is yet no decision on their fate.

The party also could not very well manage rebel candidates in upazila polls beginning in March. Later, it identified around 30 AL lawmakers, three to four ministers, and over three hundred grassroots leaders who backed the dissidents.

With the emergence of the rebel candidates, the infighting in units once again came to spotlight.

The AL Central Working Committee, the highest decision-making body of the party, at a meeting on July 12 decided to expel rebel candidates and serve show-cause notices on the leaders who supported them. 

Many of the 126 AL rebel candidates who are now upazila chairmen hold the posts of president, general secretary and organising secretary at upazila- and district-level AL units, but the party didn’t take any organisational actions against them.

In 21st triennial national council, Hasina was elected party president for the ninth consecutive time and Obaidul Quader general secretary for second term.

It made the AL supremo even more powerful, but the party’s democratic decision-making mechanism and internal governance became weak. Everyone, from grassroots to central, look to her for every single decision.

It is mentionable that the anti-corruption drive shook the front organisations of AL, but it could hardly affect the committee formation of the party itself.   

The AL also dropped nine ministers from its central executive committee in efforts to separate the party from the government.

“We are trying to separate the party from the government. And our main task next year will be making the party stronger,” said Hanif, joint general secretary of the AL.

Party activities until November were centred only on press conferences and special days’ events.

Some enthusiasm was noticed in the grassroots when the high command asked all district units to hold their councils before the party’s national council.

Top leaders were also busy highlighting the government successes in different forums in and outside the country.

Economic growth has accelerated under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government that has bolstered her support in business community and also in the international arena.

However, the failure to check unusually high onion prices since India’s imposing a ban on its export in September was deeply embarrassing for the government.

This apart, five of the 10 fast-track mega projects have finally gotten some momentum last year after initial delay, bringing hope for a positive change in economy and people’s livelihood.