The real issue in the mayoral election of Narayanganj was not Taimur and the tepid performance of BNP. The real issue was the rubbish politics of AL which Farida is always at pains to avoid. A simlple 'larialbazi' swipe suffices for a blind party supporter. Lets look at what happened.
The EC called for an Army presence in the first instance. This should have been accepted by the government. By the time we got to the day before the election the EC was in a difficult position. Farida of course loves to level the field for AL's benefit and describes both on wishy washy ground. If so - it was entirely of the government's making. A single gunshot in the wrong direction could have set the place on fire - as in Narsingdi soon after. AL and Farida can be smug about a peaceful election but that smugness is no assurance that violence could not have happened on the day - or could not happen in future. And if violence did happen due to AL infighting you can bet Farida would not have said a word. That's her valuable contribution to democracy.
Lets carry on shall we?
Ivy's father was the people's candidate on the AL ticket. Sheikh Mujib rejected him but then had to congratulate him. Like her father, Ivy was the people's candidate on the AL ticket. Hasina rejected her and then had to congratulate her. This is not a coincidence. There is definitely a story behind this repetition. But the public are entitled to know the truth - ever.
Hasina and AL Kendro instead supported known violent jerk Shamim Osman. Farida and her ilk can live with this - because as Nethrists whatever the Nethri says is the law. Why did the ruling AL support Shamim? Is this not mp[ortant to know in a democracy? Well. AL intellectuals would demand public answers anywhere in the world - but in Bangladesh it is 'understandable'. When Shamim was tearing down Ivy's posters AL intellectuals kept quiet their mouths shut. When Shamim occupied several polling booths AL intellectuals kept their mouths shut. Lets be blunt, lets be hasty to throw mud - if shots had been fired in the direction of Ivy - AL intellectuals woudl have kept their mouths shut. Some would have muttered, some would have shuffled. Thats it.
When Ivy was called to the mighty Hasina's presence - Shamim was called too. Ivy was told to work with Shamim for the betterment of Naryanganj. This is a load of rubbish. It's typical Bongu village politics which so defines Bongu national politcis and organisational dynamics: give the appearance of nobility while urinating in public. Would Ivy have been happily invited by Hasina to attend the congratulations ceremony if Shamim had won? Who cares?! We are Bongus.
After the election Shamim made the comment that his group could seize Narayanganj at anytime. Any protest from AL intellectuals? In fact, many AL intellectuals probably believe that they owe shamim some loyalty due to his goondami on behalf of AL in the past.
In the end the country would have been best served if Ivy took the position of an AL rogue or at least an AL outsider. But poor Bangladesh. She had to go and bend her knee before Farida's Nethri. She is probably playing that old Bongu game of saying her Nethri was poorly advised.
This is what happened in Narayanganj. This is Bangladesh.
And now AL intellectuals are claiming some sort of credit for Ivy. As if nothing happened. Bloody hypocrites.
Poor, poor Bangladesh.
Ezajur Rahman
Kuwait
--- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, Farida Majid <farida_majid@...> wrote:
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> Even a simple CONGRATULATION to an election winner cannot remain simple out of
> S. A. Hannan without indulging in big lies, like the following:
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> - - - Taimur
> Alam backed out after BNP decided to boycott election because of non-deployment
> of army and EVM voting. If he remained in contest, it is difficult now to say
> who would have won.
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> At no point in his public statements did Taimur Alam say that
> he is withdrawing his candidacy "because of non-deployment of army and
> EVM voting." He repeatedly claimed, sometimes even tearfully, that it
> was his Party's last-moment decision.
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> About non-deployment of army, both the EC and the Govt.
> were in wishy-washy territory. Before the day of the election neither
> came out cleanly saying that it did or did not want the army patrolling
> the polling stations. After the election, both are now taking credit
> for not deploying the military for a civic event like a Mayoral
> election. Ideally, there should never be any military presence in a polling event of an election.
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> Then, of course, the last bit of ridiculously false claim of
> S. A. Hannan, despite every pre-election poll that showed Taimur Alam to be a distant
> third, that Taimur could have won had he remained in the contest.
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> Anyway, Dr. Ivy's victory is indeed a people's victory in
> an important election. It was a moral victory over larhialbazi AL
> politics and the lie-mongering communal politics of BNP/Jamaat.
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> Hope the message to all the political parties is: Please do
> not push candidates with a criminal or a razakar-supporting past
> record. Ultimately people will reject such candidates. They are
> becoming more sophisticated than they are given credit to by the
> politicians.
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> Joy Bangla!
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> Farida Majid
> To: hkbadal@...
> From: sahannan@...
> Date: Mon, 31 Oct 2011 07:34:08 +0600
> Subject: [mukto-mona] Narayaonganj City Corporation Election : What are the Lessons?--editorial
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> .Narayaonganj City
> Corporation Election : What are the Lessons?
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> Selina
> Hayat Ivy won the mayoral polls yesterday, defeating the ruling Awami
> League-backed candidate Shamim Osman by over one lakh votes.In the prestigious
> battle of the ballot, Ivy, polled 180,048 votes to Shamim's 78,705 votes.
> Though the BNP-backed mayoral candidate Taimur Alam Khandaker had announced a
> boycott of the polls only hours before voting commencedReturning Officer Biswas
> Lutfur Rahman announced the unofficial results at the polls control room around
> 1:00am today. He said the voter turnout had been 69.92 percent.Confident of
> victory through observing the trends of early results, Ivy in her instant
> reaction thanked the people for their wholehearted support to her and their
> contribution to making the polls free and fair. "Defying fears of violence
> they came out of their homes and gave their verdict against criminals,
> extortionists and land-grabbers." "It's a victory of the
> people," said an exultant Ivy, who portrayed herself as a "people's
> candidate" on the campaign trail after her party's central leaders had
> declined to back her in the vote.
>
> Thirty-seven
> years ago, AL chief and prime minister Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman picked
> Khoka Mohiuddin, who suffered a heavy defeat and came third in the electoral
> race. This time, Bangabandhu's daughter and ruling AL chief Sheikh Hasina lent her support to
> Shamim over Ivy at the maiden polls for the newly formed Narayanganj City
> Corporation. But the people of Narayanganj had the final say. They sent,
> according to political analysts, a very significant signal to the political
> bigwigs. They stood behind Ivy, who is seen as a candidate with a clean image
> with a tested career in running city affairs as mayor of Narayanganj
> municipality. They voiced an emphatic "no" to Shamim, a former AL
> MP, who is alleged to have deep links with the city's crime ring. The polls
> results also exposed, believe some political analysts, the failure of the
> ruling AL top
> brass to read the pulse of the common people in Narayanganj in terms of the
> kind of leadership and candidates they expect in the future.
>
> We congratulate Dr Selina on her victory. It became clear
> that she is the front runner after withdrawal of Advocate Taimul Alam.Taimur
> Alam backed out after BNP decided to boycott election because of non-deployment
> of army and EVM voting. If he remained in contest, it is difficult now to say
> who would have won. We do mot understand why Election Commission insists on EVM
> though there is objection from major parties and people are skeptical about the
> system. We have already expressed our views about government failure to deploy
> troops despite EC request which was binding on government as per constitution.
>
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