Hasina calls on party backersto boycott Feb 12 B’desh polls

Nagpur: Ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Monday appealed to Awami League supporters to boycott the February 12 general elections in the country on the party's official page, before her audio message was internally circulated.Sources said this followed a high-level virtual meeting with party leaders, most of whom are in hiding. Hasina suggested her message should reach every party supporter in Bangladesh and she relied on Chhatra League — the banned youth wing of the party — to spread the word among grassroots cadres. Speaking in Bengali, Hasina said if the ballot paper did not bear the 'boat' symbol of Awami League, and the party has been banned from contesting, why should its supporters even go out to vote. After the clip was internally circulated, it was put up on social media by afternoon. TOI accessed both clips.Sources said as Bangladesh goes to polls, Awami League leaders, most of whom are in hiding, are keeping a close eye on developments, while trying to turn events in their favour. Even as Hasina wanted party workers to reach out to people and urge them to boycott polls, the question remained whether the strategy would work as her party is currently rudderless with top leaders of both Awami League and Hindu organisations in hiding. This has made it difficult to take forward her boycott call, said a source requesting anonymity.When in power, Awami League enjoyed 50% of the vote share. Of this, 10% comprised minorities, mainly Hindus, who are now under constant scrutiny. If minorities boycott the election, there is a likelihood of a backlash. Among the 40% Muslim vote base of Awami league, only a marginal section may respond to the call, but there are slim chances it could leave any impact, say experts.In Hasina's own constituency Gopalganj-3, Gobindadeb Pramanik, the general secretary of Bangladesh Jatiya Hindu Mahajote — a grand alliance of Hindu outfits — filed nomination as an independent, but his papers were rejected on technical grounds. Bangladesh Minorities Janta Party (BMJP), which filed nominations for 28 candidates, had only 9 names cleared. BMJP leader Surkriti Kumar Mandal has appealed to India to look beyond Awami League and is considering an alliance with the radical Jamaat-e-Islami for protection of Hindus.