Landslide for BNP

Gen-Z delivers landslide for BNP, reshaping Bangladesh’s post-Hasina political order

Gen-Z has spoken in Bangladesh with a two-thirds majority for the Bangladesh National Party (BNP). The vote – held after somersaults on the political canvas of the 175 million-strong Muslim state in Southeast Asia – has ushered in a new dawn of democracy for a politically enlightened nation. The ouster of Awami League after 15 years of iron-clad rule, the exile of Sheikh Hasina, and a first-of-its-kind technocratic government under Nobel Laureate Dr Yunus were events that kept the nation on tenterhooks.

The BNP has reportedly won a landslide, bagging more than 220 seats in a 300-member Jatiya Sangsad, or the House of the Nation, while the Jamaat-e-Islami was able to clinch 70 seats till these lines were written. The Awami League stands banned. And the National Citizen Party (NCP), led by the youth who were instrumental in toppling Hasina, were seen trailing with five seats of the 30 they contested.

The rise to power of 60-year-old Tarique Rahman, the son of Khaleda and Gen Ziaur Rehman, is widely seen as a stigma of irresistible dynastic politics. Rahman had returned to Dhaka after 20 years in self-exile. His mother, for a decade or so, had either been in prison or in boycott from active politics.

The BNP and Rahman have a responsibility to dispel by recollecting the synergies of an enterprising nation and restoring their trust in electoral politics and national institutions. The BNP's slogan of 'Bangladesh Before All' needs translating into action. Likewise, the July Charter that promises to create new constitutional bodies along with broader changes in consultation with political parties is worth implementing.

One of the major challenges for Dhaka is to reorient its foreign policy on non-partisan lines and undo the impression of being under Indian influence. The recent advancement towards China, as well as Pakistan, is a good omen and necessitates a balanced approach in dealings with major powers, especially the US. At home, the BNP has to walk the talk on its manifesto of creating jobs, protecting low-income and marginal groups, and taking the country towards food autarky. That political stability seems to be around the corner is a win-win proposition.