"The people did not vote for the honest, who had worked for their welfare. Those who are graft tainted, involved with terrorism, murder emerged as winners [in the polls]," Sheikh Hasina said on Saturday.
Candidates endorsed by the opposition won by a landslide in polls to the Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet, Barisal, and Gazipur city corporations.
"No one could make graft allegations against any of my candidates," she said while inaugurating 88 air-conditioned buses at the Ganabhaban.
She wondered how honest candidates, with clean image, lost the elections.
Hasina advocated fielding party-backed candidates in the local polls in future.
"I believe all local elections should be held in a partisan manner (political parties endorsing candidates to contest the polls). They ultimately turn out to be so," she said.
She said parties contesting polls helps maintain discipline.
She wondered what the use of government's development works was if the corrupt won the polls.
"What is the secret of their victory?" Hasina asked
"I heard people saying that we have lost because of national issues. Which issue? Are we not being able to provide food security?" the two-time Prime Minister asked.
She said it would not have been possible for her government to make huge progress had it been corrupt.
"The quality of power production, health services, education have only improved. Then, where's the graft?"
She reflected on the qualifications of the party backed-candidates in the mayoral polls.
"Our Gazipur candidate was a three-time municipal mayor, a man of clean image. None could raise graft allegations against him. He had to lose.
"The man who had misappropriated Hajj money when he was State Minister for Religious Affairs won. The businessmen of the locality are terrorized now."
She also expressed frustration over the defeat of her party-backed candidates in four other city corporations.
Hasina alleged Khulna's Mayor was member of an underground party, Naksal, and was accused in a murder case. "Ziaur Rahman (former President and BNP founder) had brought out the murder accused from jail when he formed his party."
"This underground party was associated with every murder in Khulna from Manik Saha's to journalist Balu and Monjurul Alam's killings. He gets elected!
"We have to probe why exactly we lost the polls," she said.
