Shafiq Islam
1.3K posts
@sqislam
Retired Economist
Quick takeaways from Bangladesh results: 1. Mainstream, centrist ideology is still preferred by the voters, going by the outcome. BNP set to secure more than 200 seats in a 300-strong Parliament and will return to power after two decades. 2. Women voters have ensured—albeit silently—that the upbeat Jamaat-e-Islami stays away from power. Women, a sizeable work force in different Industries, clearly saw BNP as a better alternative and appear to have voted overwhelmingly against Jamaat. 3. For all his and the efforts of his masters—the cabal of Western governments and international NGOs—Mohammad Yunus will become irrelevant, although it is as yet unclear what the fallout of the referendum will be. The all-out backing that the US-UK combine gave to Yunus and Jamaat, has had limited impact. 4. India’s early outreach to Tarique Rahman, Bangladesh’s next Prime Minister, will ensure a stable, functional relationship between Delhi and the next government in Dhaka, notwithstanding India’s rather unpleasant experience with Bangladesh during BNP’s last stint in power in coalition with the Jamaat (2001-06). 5. The Jamaat, which ran a clever campaign and pitched itself as an untested, non-corrupt alternative, has not succeeded in wooing the large, secular majority of Bangladeshis but it has already nearly doubled its seats tally from its previous best and will build on this development in the coming years, no doubt. More later. (P.S Someone from Dhaka just now referred to this programme (youtu.be/qvPC2mjsdWc?si…) I did after returning from Dhaka a fortnight ago and said ‘you captured the mood correctly!’ Most of the comments below the video did give me that indication).
