140,000 Hindu Votes Are the ‘Trump Card’ in Thakurgaon-1 By-Election as Parties Battle for the Decisive Bloc
The Thakurgaon-1 by-election has turned the district's political scene festive. Ever since symbols were allotted, calculations have been running everywhere from the town to tea stalls in remote villages. According to local people, the key to victory and defeat in this by-election — the ‘trump card’ — lies in the hands of about 140,000 Hindu voters.
Why are Hindu voters the ‘kingmakers’ in this equation? Thakurgaon-1 has a total of 516,138 voters. Of them, about 140,000 are Hindu voters — more than a quarter of the entire electorate. According to the Election Commission, the parliamentary seat comprises the Sadar, Ruhia and Bhulli areas.
Past election arithmetic shows that Hindus in this area tend to vote unitedly behind a single party or candidate. Local politically aware people believe that whoever wins this seat, victory is impossible without the support of Hindu voters. Historically, this large voting bloc was known as a ‘vote bank’ of the Awami League.
The picture in the most recent national election, however, was different. Local discussion holds that Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir secured his landslide victory largely on the strength of this Hindu vote bank, with almost all Hindu votes going to the sheaf of paddy. Trust in former MP Mirza Fakhrul and his personal acceptability among local Hindus had turned into nearly one hundred percent of their votes in that election.
Retaining that tradition is now the BNP's main challenge. This time, the test is to protect that political inheritance for Mirza Fakhrul's younger brother and BNP candidate Mirza Faisal Amin. Local BNP leaders and activists are busy day and night campaigning in Hindu-majority villages and neighbourhoods on Faisal Amin's behalf. The BNP is reminding voters that it has always stood beside the Hindu community in protecting communal harmony in Thakurgaon.
Confident about the Hindu vote bank, BNP nominee Faisal Amin says Hindu voters are no longer in the Awami League's vote bank. Thakurgaon's Hindu community has already placed its trust in the BNP and received a good reflection of it, he says, adding that in any situation they will stay with the BNP. At street meetings and exchanges of views, BNP leaders are promising that ensuring every citizen's religious freedom and security will be their top priority. The party expects Hindu voters to trust the sheaf of paddy this time too, as they did in the last national election.
On the other side, Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Md Delawar Hossain is not behind in campaigning either. To overturn past equations and draw Hindu voters towards them, his side has adopted a different strategy. As the nominee of the 11-party alliance, he is running a closely watched, tactical campaign.
Jamaat campaigners are going door to door in Hindu homes saying directly that if they win, no extortion, occupation or instability will be allowed in the area. With a message of one hundred percent security for the lives and property of all communities, they are making a strong effort to crack the Hindu vote bank.
Delawar Hossain, the Jamaat candidate nominated by the 11 parties, believes Hindu voters are placing him on their list of preferences this time. ‘For a long time I have worked on the problems of Hindu society. I have tried to understand them. I have promised to stand beside them to improve their quality of life. I believe they will vote for me,’ he says.
A section of voters, however, says this time's arithmetic is not as simple as before. Tapas Debnath, a teacher at Thakurgaon Government Girls' High School, says Hindus in Thakurgaon voted unitedly for one candidate in the last election. But it would be wrong to assume the same pattern will continue and they will lean towards a particular party this time too. In his words, Hindu society is now much more aware; instead of going by party, they are now weighing the candidate's competence.
Bishwajit Chakrabarty, a resident of Akcha in Sadar upazila, says: ‘We will certainly think carefully and move in a particular direction. Just as we had some demands before, we have them this time too. Our main demand is to live in peace, religious freedom and security of life and property. Whichever party and candidate can give us confidence in ensuring our overall security, we will choose them.’ His remarks make clear that the question of security sits at the centre of Hindu voters' decision this time.
A total of five candidates are in the main contest in this by-election. BNP's Mirza Faisal Amin has received the sheaf of paddy symbol; Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Md Delawar Hossain has the scales; Islami Andolan Bangladesh's Hafez Dr Md Khademul Islam has the hand fan; Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan's Md Abdul Alim Nizami has the banyan tree; and Bangladesh Congress's Husain Muhammad Omar Faruk has the coconut symbol.
Details of polling preparations are also known. Voting will take place at 989 booths in 185 polling centres. Candidates' official campaigning will continue until 8am on 27 October. Once the noise of campaigning stops, the voters will have the final word.
Urging voters to cast their ballots without hindrance in the Thakurgaon-1 by-election, Returning Officer and Election Officer Md Kamrul Islam says: ‘We are optimistic about holding the election in a festive atmosphere. The candidates are campaigning. We have not received any major complaint from anyone.’ He said it has been decided to deploy 12 platoons of BGB alongside army, police and Ansar members for this by-election. Voting in the seat will be held on 29 October.
All told, the battle for Thakurgaon-1 now awaits the answer to a single question — which way will the 140,000 Hindu voters lean this time? The BNP wants to hold on to Fakhrul's inheritance, Jamaat wants to crack that vote bank with its message of security, and the voters say they are looking at the candidate's competence and guarantees of safety. The result on 29 October will tell in whose hand the ‘trump card’ finally landed.
