BNP proves its resilience

THE BNP has again taken the lead in the second phase of the upazila elections held in 115 upazilas.  This has happened despite the ruling party's desperate efforts to consolidate its position by fielding a single candidate in each constituency through combating the trend of rebel candidature within the pro-AL camp. The pro-BNP camp, no less afflicted by this trend, has still been able to continue its lead in the polls results. This is a clear indication of the fact that the BNP is commanding substantial support among the electorate.
We note with concern that unlike in the first phase of the upazila polls, Thursday's second phase was marred by instances of violence over capturing of polling booths, driving out rival candidates' polling agents, stuffing ballot boxes with fake votes and other irregularities. As the reports go, such violent acts, in most cases, have been blamed on the pro-ruling party candidates.  We condemn such election-related violence in the strongest possible terms.
Ever since January 5 'election,' the BNP has been the favouriite whipping boy for everything that goes wrong. Now that the upazila elections have shown BNP's solid public support, AL can no longer continue to treat the BNP as a party without public support. As a democracy, therefore, the ruling AL must devise ways to come to some understanding with its rival.
We hope the ruling party would begin to reconcile with the reality and break new political ground to accommodate BNP through constructive engagement.