Editorial
Five defeats too many
AL must go for soul-searching
THE message from Gazipur is without ambiguity. The ruling Awami League, only months before the next general election, is in deep trouble.
The AL needs a miracle for a reversal of its misfortunes. That being unlikely, the ruling party must go for a serious introspection and course correction. One of course gives full credit to the government for ensuring clean, free and fair elections. The worry, though, is that these elections have revealed the extent of disconnect the AL now has with the country. And that, again, is only natural given that in these past nearly five years the party and the government have been run on a strictly centralized basis. The concentration of authority in the hands of Sheikh Hasina, both at the party and government levels, and a resultant pushing aside of collegiate leadership has now brought the AL to its present impasse.
The failure of the ruling party to handle matters of corruption to public satisfaction, and, overall, a general perception of hubris in the conduct of affairs of state have led to a rising crescendo of popular discontent against the government. The manner in which the dissident Jahangir Alam was pushed into withdrawing from the race and the election-eve badmouthing of the BNP candidate by ruling party figures left a bad taste in the mouth for many.
The Awami League now needs to seriously go for soul-searching. The Gazipur debacle was a blow, especially when it has been a bastion of the AL for decades.
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