Dhaka: Most ministers and MPs prefer to stay away from their localities fearing local party leaders and people’s wrath despite repeated call by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to her cabinet colleagues and parliament members to visit their local constituencies on a regular basis and keep in touch with the local people.

In many cases the ministers and MPs had kept contact only with their conmen and relatives in their areas and done favour to select group of people irking the people in general of the area. So the ministers and MPs are quite fearful about facing tough time if they visit their localities just ahead of the election as in most of the time of their reign they stayed away from common people of their localities and were busy in nepotism, corruption and favouritism, said local party sources.

As a result the ruling Awami League lawmakers, ministers and high-ups are losing popularity and acceptability in the big shots’ local constituencies as they did little for the local people in meeting their locality demands which made people annoyed and frustrated about their leaders sparking off a corrosion in the ruling party and also their personal popularity, said party and local sources.  

The party-high command and policy makers of the ruling Awami League are quite worried about the situation ahead of the election as grass-roots level leaders have expressed their anger during meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina with different district leaders at Ganobhaban. The sentiment of the party workers and intelligence reports from many top leaders’ constituencies made the ruling AL’s high command really worried about the ground reality and situation and they are giving top priority to pacify the grass-roots situation, AL sources said. 

AL president Sheikh Hasina in the extended meeting of the party last month asked the party MPs, ministers and local leaders to patch-up and mend fences ahead of the general elections saying “I’ve got all the reports of what you did I your localities, so mend fences and pacify intra-party rivalry and infighting and project the government’s successes to the mass people for changing the situation.”

In that extended meeting and also at district level meetings of AL grassroots leaders many district level leaders urged the party high-command to select and nominate party candidates accommodating the grassroots leaders’ views and choices, said AL meeting sources.

An AL Presidium Member and minister on condition of anonymity  said, “Some ministers and lawmakers have been asked to patch up with their constituency leaders and mend fences with them so that such rivalries and infighting do not affect the party standing and its polls outcome in the next general election.”

Regarding the party infighting and rivalries, AL Presidium Member Nuahul Alam Lenin said, “Through the AL grassroots level meeting of district leaders and workers with Prime Minister Sjeikh Hasina we’re actually trying to bury differences, infighting to make the organization stronger in grassroots level for ensuring a good outcome in the coming elections.”

Party sources also said, some ministers and local MPs have created such adverse situation in many districts by misusing Test Relief, Food for Works and other such funds and allocations pocketing those by their cronies and relatives instead of distributing those through local party leaders and activists. Such nepotism and favouratism have made them unpopular in their localities and eroded the local people’s faith in them.  

Talking to some district level leaders of the ruling Awami League, it was known that local MP of Mymensingh-10 constituency Giasuddin Ahmed was manhandled and assaulted by local people of his constituency due to people’s anger and public sentiment against him for not doing any development work in his constituency. Such is case of Abdus Sobhan Golap, a special assistant to the Prime Minister, whose motorcade came under attack by local people when he went to visit his locality in Gopalganj.

Local people even attacked the village home of Water Resources Minister Ramesh Chandra Sen in Thakurgaon.

Even Labour and Employment Minsiter Rajiuddi Ahmed raju has been declared unwanted in his own constituency in Narsingdi for his relatives link with murder of popular Narsingdi Pourasava Mayor Lokman Hussain.

State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Motahar Hossain was also assaulted in his own constituency by local people.

On September 23, 2010, Barisal-2 constituency MP Monirul Islam Moni came under attack in his own Ujirpur-Banaripara constituency. The same year AL MP of Kushtia-1 constituency Afajuddin Ahmed alo came under attack I his own constituency on November 14.  

AL-led grand alliance partner Jatiya Party MP elected from Gangachara of Rangpur Hossain Mokbul Shahriar also faced the local people’s wrath. He is a close relative of the Jatiya Party president HM Ershad.

So despite repeated reminder by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, many ministers and MPs stay away from their localities and constituencies fearing people’s wrath and also physical assault due to their misdeeds and nepotism depriving local party leaders, and common people too. The local people are fed up with their leaders as they failed to address popular local demands and their needs. So they are still quite far from their locality and detached from people which could affect the ruling alliance in their election outcome as incumbency factors work in elections dynamics and its results quite obviously and badly, said a political analyst on condition of anonymity.

MP of Rangpur-4 constituency Tipu Munshi only visits his constituency for inaugurating roads and other installations, alleged local AL joint convener Advocate Rezaul Karim Raju. He said local people want the MP to spend more time in his constituency and serve the people, but he seldom does that so people are fed up with the lawmaker.

People of Pirojpur-2 constituency and Jubo League and Chhatra League activists had staged protest against MP Mohammad Shah Alam for having no link with his constituency people.

So is the case of Rangpur-5 MP Ashikur Rahman who seldom visits his constituency and is detached from his constituency people.

Sylhet-5 MP Hafiz Ahmed Majumder sometimes go to Sylhet from Dhaka and stay in Pubali Bank rest house and talks with his conmen there, but he never make any visit to his constituency or keep in touch with local people, alleged local leaders of his party.

Numerous allegations of corruption, nepotism and irregularities were there in the constituency of Advocate Fazle Rabbi Mian of Gaibandha-5. Saghata Upazila AL president Siddikur Rahman Patu and Fulchhari Upazila AL president Akabar Hossain Sarkar also raised many allegations of corruption and nepotism against Fazle Rabbi Mian.

On June 11, 2012, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and AL general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam MP asked party lawmakers, ministers and other top leaders to make local constituency visits more frequently and intensify contacts with local party leaders, activists and mass people and boost organizational strengths at grassroots level.

But in most of the cases the AL high-ups suggestions and to some extent orders fell into deaf ears as they are fearful about facing the local constituency people just ahead of the elections for obvious reasons.

(This story has been translated, rewritten and edited by Md. Al-Amin)  

Ends/OSR/AMA/10/06/13