The New Nation - Internet Edition

Pulack Ghatack

Left leaning allies may isolate Awami League (AL) and form different platforms before the ensuing general election, as they have no faith on the centre-right party, which is the main force in the 14-party alliance.

An in-depth study reveals that most of the components of the 14-party alliance are mulling over alternative ways to run in the upcoming electoral race solely on the ground of faithlessness on AL.

They apprehend that AL will include Jatiya Party (JP) and some other "communal" parties and revive the mega alliance (Mahajote) bypassing them.

But, most of the centre-left components of 14-party alliance have strong objections to the inclusion of JP and other anti-secular forces in the platform.

In informal talks a series of leftist leaders were at one to say, "AL wants us to remain with it in the election without sharing parliamentary seats. But, AL is sure not to depend on us for wining in the election and it will move for a greater alliance with Jatiya Pary of former military dictator HM Ershad and some other communal forces. So, it is right for us to think of other alternatives, as we can't accept the inclusions."

But their formal comment to The New Nation was almost the same: "Still, we value the importance of unity of the 14-party alliance to fight corrupt, communal and anti-liberation political forces."

"The 14-party alliance is strong enough to defeat the Jamaat-BNP alliance. We succeeded in foiling the ill motive of Jamaat-BNP to stage a farcical election," said Azizul Islam Khan, one of the senior most leaders in the left bloc, who is acting as Adviser of Ganotantry Party.

"Corruption and tricks of BNP-Jamaat is now exposed. So people will back us, if AL sticks to its commitment to materialising 33-point declaration of the 14-party alliance," said Dilip Barua, President of Sammobadi Dal.

Notably, all the politicians said, "If AL remains true to its commitment," sounding their shaky faith on the biggest party in their alliance.

But still they are hesitant in their move to split, as the leftists in the 14-party find it their pious duty to resist, what they say, "corrupt, communal and anti-liberation forces."

A few of the left leaders are aspirant to bag AL's nomination in the upcoming poll who are being criticised by their fellow men for acting as "sycophants" to the biggest ally.

Some small parties may also drift away further due to strong feud among leaders and activists over sticking to or leaving the alliance.

To avoid a further rift in the party, central committee of Gonatantry Party recently took a formal resolution against any kind of alliance with the JP.

Workers' Party President Rashed Khan Menon and Sammobadi Dal president Dilip Barua earlier said categorically they would leave the alliance immediately, if JP intrudes into it.

The leaders are trying to re-enforce the unity of 11-party alliance which extended into 14-party alliance with inclusion of AL, JSD and NAP.

However, Bangladeshers Samajtantrik Dal (BSD-Khaleq) formally leave the platform while Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) started to abstain from participating in the 11-party programmes in protest against the move to extend the coalition with AL.

These parties are active to float "purely left-minded" platforms as they think that "the bipolar politics led by the bourgeois" to the root of all the problems of the nation.

However, there are some 30 parties of socialist and communist ideologies in Bangladesh who did not join the 14-party alliance earlier, and are criticising the former for forging nexus with local collaborators of imperialist forces.

Leaders and activists of these parties, who have separate fronts, are trying to break the 14-pary alliance by exercising moral pressure on them from outside.

The parties may take a move to consolidate all the left leaning political parties into a single front, or they may split into two alliances: one left political front and another left-democratic and secular political front.

Negotiations to this end is advancing diffidently as AL is yet to clear its position regarding expansion of the coalition and forging greater unity with JP, LDP and BDB.

AL is going slow over the issue and is expected to remove the curtain from its backstage moves at the fag end so that the leftists do not get the opportunity to consolidate themselves.

According to AL insiders, the leftists can add meagrely enough votes for an electoral coalition but their supports help us consolidate an ideological base and enhance the credibility and acceptability to a wide range of intellectuals.

In voting politics, the largest party is very much technical and wants to enlarge the coalition by forging ties with some sort of Islamists parties and also with JP of former military dictator Ershad who enjoys emotional supports in Rangpur area.

Before the last general election, secular AL took a U-turn into an inexplicable marriage of expediency signed up with Khelafat-e-Majlish, the ultra orthodox Islamist group led by Shaikul Hadith Allama Azizul Haq.

General Secretary of NAP Advocate Enamul Huq, Co-ordinator of Left Front Abu Hamid Shahabuddin, Secretary of CPB Ruhin Hossain Prince and a host of leftist leaders and workers said that AL has lost credibility by forging unity with some controversial parties without any prior negotiation with its allies.