Olive branch

I absolutely agree with you. When Giasuddin Mamun was charged with failing to furnish his wealth statements accurately, he argued that he was in detention when the ACC issued its order. Sound argument. But I dont think it helped his case.

What the ACC used to do a few months back is in fact much worse. It would direct you to appear in person to furnish wealth statements (they have the authority to do so under the amendments made in the SOE) and then when you are coming out of the ACC premises, the police would be there waiting to arrest you.

The funny thing about such laws is that they’re not just fatally flawed in a static setting, but open to boomeranging and future abuse in a dynamic one. (e.g. the reinstituted Vested Property Act). As people on DP are pointing out, SH and KZ hardly accorded their political opponents “due process” in courts. So they hardly have the moral high ground for wanting it now. Bad dynamic the CTG is perpetuating and someone needs to break out of it. If only that’s the lesson that the CTG drew from Hasina and Khaleda’s current plight, it would be wonderful.

I agree. Asif bhai, if there’s one takeaway point of my post, it’s the one you elucidate so eloquently and succintly.

E-Bangladesh Podcast: Tasneem Khalil with Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury:

Have a look.

http://e-bangladesh.org/topnews/e-bangladesh-podcast-tasneem-khalil-with-abdul-gaffar-chowdhury.html

biased propaganda…sensationalism at its best. Indians should remember there is a such a thing called self-fulfilling prophecy. Bangladesh is not Pakistan and things don’t work the same way here. Attempts to presnt DGFI as the new ISI and bangladesh as the new pakistan will only make that prospect ever so real. India has not benefitted one iota from its conflict with pakistan…and i don’t see it benefitting from one with BD either.

Syed, explain to me who’s the Indian here?

The interviewer on this website he posted. Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury is also a paid indian hack. He compared DGFI with hitler’s gestapo?!? He is a clown….please donot post these sort of defamations. It spoils the environment. He said Bangladesh is run by ISI through DGFI….I dunno whether to laugh or cry.

Please listen to this….it’ll make your blood boil.

Sushanta, thanks for the link. A great effort, although AGC’s voice wasn’t always the clearest. But it was def worth the listen, especially from a man like him.

That said, AGC has always been an avid supporter of Sheikh Mujib (who isn’t?), but many times also extends that same passion to AL.

I must also disgaree with his assessment of the DGFI (not regarding ISI’s influence over it, I personally agree with that read) Although the polity has shifted inclinations towards either neighbour depending on who’s sittin at the PMO, the DGFI has always maintained an insular disposition towards such shifts. This of course is open to debate, since all our opinions are guided by who you meet from the organization, how many you meet…etc. I don’t think the creation of the DGFI was a “dark hour”, but a necessary move.

I also thought the civil war prediction, and the enormities described were a bit much, but then again, that might be wishful thinking on my part, and nor am I a respected and well informed journalist who’s given so much to his country.

Other than that… it was a nice interview.

Yeah, my sense is that the civil war prediction was a bit much. I have my thoughts on the possibility of civil war - but I don’t think that the risk comes from the military government, but rather, elsewhere. I should have a post on this somewhere along the line…

Don’t know too much about the DGFI…

Yeah Saif, Let’s have discussion sometime about civil war. There is a tendency among people with zero…nay…negative military experience to cry for war and bloodshed. Somehow these armchair warriors assume a civil war will just be a souped up version of their “street mastani” and their Dhaka university Gunfights [ where you fire 500 rounds but only one person or two die]. The best example of such people are a section of journalists and supporters of a certain political party. In my years in BD and abroad I have not seen a single people who is opposed to this party [ I'll not mention which political party this is...the knowledgeable readers will know] welcoming a civil war. That being said I’d like the readers to know that a civil war will be a tragedy for the country and all involved. I don’t see any good coming out of it for this party especially. In a war…god forbid if it comes….thousands will die in each day. You’ll have to face the business end of heavy caliber…i mean 12.7mm and up weapons. It is not a pretty sight. Our country doesnot have a health care structure that can save too many of the injured. I’d urge all sane educated people to refrain from calling for civil war or bloodshed. We are aware it is a possibility and the people concerned have prepared for such a possibility for a long time…including the prospect of an Indian intervention. So if these people are trying to shock and awe us with the threat of a civil war….I believe they’re a lil out of their league here.

To bring it back to the blog’s original question: But is this a belated attempt at thawing relations at a time of distress and need? Too little, too late, perhaps, this olive branch?

Not that any of these rumours can be verified, but Khaleda I think has been trying send out an olive branch for a while. Hasina has so far refused this because it will not fly with her party base - grass root AL workers did suffer a lot under the last government (and yes, the hamla-mamla culture did escalate a lot under Hasina).

Khaleda didn’t worry about the party base because of two reasons. First, she has, it appears, already lost the party base. Second, as Saif mentions, there is the element of desperation. If Hasina has also lost the party base (it will become clear soon enough I guess - RATS are not co-operating with Zillur Rahman, and without them I don’t see any andolon happening), then will she accept Khaleda’s offer? And if she does, then what happens?

I think if that happens, RATS will portray Hasina as the traitor - ’she will do anything, even sign up with Khaleda, to get to power’. In fact, this may very well be what the RATS are hoping for.

I couldn’t agree with Jyoti more. If I have to speculate more…I’d add the powers that are patronizing RATS sees this and are actively spreading this hasina-khaleda detente idea….for the reason jyoti mentioned.

SH has a much larger, more devoted grassroots base than KZ. This move and the flimsy case* will only increase her support.

I call it a flimsy case based on a report by Ajker Kagoj (http://www.ajkerkagoj.com/2007/July18/): There were 8 bearer checks that were cashed in the alleged extortion, but the police has not been able to identify the signature of who cashed them. Bearer checks can be given to anyone, cashed by anyone.

Cric

I haven’t heard the interview as of yet, but if Abdul Gaffar Choudhury - who wrote the “Amar Bhaiye Roktey Raangano” song - claims that the DGFI is run by the ISI, he has fallen tremendously from his once-lofty heights. He’s well known for having an AL-bias, but this sort of assertion is simply ridiculous. In any case, I’ll defer judgement till I’ve heard the interview myself.

Hussain, gotta disagree with you there about influence of the ISI. Collaboration, perhaps. Influence is saying a bit too much. As you said, “Open to debate” and couldn’t agree more.

Jyoti bhai, but how will RATS avoid the counter-accusation that they have signed up with Mannan Bhuiyan to get to power?:) I wouldn’t discount the base support as easily as you. If these two get together, the most disgusted section of the population will be people like me, who have urged them to sit down and reach consensus over national issues over the last 15 years.

Asif,

You have hit the nail right on the head. These two women stymied every effort to reach a national consensus due to their childish personal vendettta against each other, it seems. The “battling begums” as they were famously called couldn’t do that ever in national interest. Now if they reach some sort of consensus to save their skins and their political future…the polity will see the naked selfishness of such a ploy. This will not be like the unity they built during the anti-Ershad movement. 17 years have passed and lot of water has flown through Meghna-Jamuna since then.

Before the situation reached a crisis point Mannan Bhuiyan and Abdul Jalil had a draft agreement for resolution of the crisis. But Hasina refused to accept it…because she thought…now is the time to go for the maximum BNP is down and out and no one is there to stop me now…Well the rest is history…little did she know!

Maf, yes Hasina has a much larger base than Khaleda. But will the base spontaneously mobilise? If this were to happen, this probably would have happened already. As I’ve argued in AsifY’s blog, I think the RATS are controlling the party machinery, and that’s why the reaction has been so muted.

AsifY, whom do you think the AL partymen - folks who got beaten up during the past 5 years - see as their enemy, Khaleda or Mannan Bhuiyan?

A much more intriguing, and perhaps likely, possibility is that Hasina continues her stance against the regime. If the regime is moderate (a relatively genuine election followed by a coalition government and the army back to the barracks), this will mean that Hasina will be the de facto opposition leader. If the regime is under hardliner control (a junta under the guise of an NSC), then Hasina will be the voice of the resistance. There might not be an andolon today, but 5 years down the track, when an issue presents itself, she’ll return as the people’s champion.

There are two major changes in the AL’s support base that have gone unnoticed by many (but not all commentators).

One, AL is the party of 1974 famine doesn’t wash anymore. This is because most Bangladeshis are too young to remember/care. This was pointed out by Nazim Qamran CHowdhury last year. For the median new voters in every election over the last decade, AL was the preferred choice because BNP was the party of establishment - you don’t like the shape the country is in, the default is to blame BNP. In fact, as a friend pointed out recently, there is now an anti-BNP vote block. And if the regime is seen as the continuation of ‘nationalist’ politics, then Hasina will be able to count on their support.

Two, AL under Hasina has been very successful in shedding its ‘anti-Muslim’/pro-India image. People with the 1970s memory don’t like it. And obviously the ‘nationalist’ camp wants to downplay it. But the support Hasina receives from the Inquilaab camp didn’t happen suddenly. To the extent that the regime and its successors are seen as ‘bhodroloke’ and ‘culturally iinauthentic’, Hasina will be able to use populism to attract support.

Jyoti….

You’re forgetting something. AL has won highest 36 % in neutral elections. Say due to your anti-BNP vote bank, BNP misrule etc…it increases to 40%. Still right of the center forces remain the strongest in the country. Make no mistake about it. I believe even this figure is exaggerated as RATS personally control about 10-30 (conservatively out of a possible 100 seats that Awamis may win) seats in AL through their devoted supporters. Since as of now not a single member of RATS has condemned her arrest I think we can safely say…they will support the SOE government and NOT her. Hasina is also a negative brand personally. Khaleda before this anti-corruption purge was far more popular personally because she didn’t sound so aggressive. That of course has change due to corruption reveletions.

One rajakar Maulana Mannan and other assorted tablighi fundamentalist support or even the treaty with Khelafat Majlish is too little to change awamis pro-india, anti-muslim image. Its deep-rooted and continued blind support that AL receives from India and the local hindoo community re-inforces that image. Hasina did try hard wearing burka/hijab before the election etc. But in the end its too little too late. Also more to the center awamis try to move more of their leftwing base they will lose as it happened with the khelafat treaty.

Jyoti…another thing you forget…NTV and BTV together control more than 50% TV viewers in BD. You think its too hard to show some footage from 1974 to remind them of the famine? As for your assumption that Every decade more young/new voters are supporting awamis….complete hogwash. BNP student organization is much stronger than ALs since forever. So BNPs support base among young people remains stronger except for a certain section of the youth ( cultural workers, minorities etc.).

Now is AL considered the anti-establishment anti-”bhodrolok” party….absolutely. Awami politics is largely populist politics. This remains ALs greatest strength and weakness. Strength in terms of mass appeal but weakness in terms of policy inflexibility. If a Yunus or Abed can be brought out of the current government’s hat [ quite likely actually given that this is a borgeosie 'revolucion'...] the mass populism vote will also be split [Ziaur Rahman managed this with Maulana Bhashani in a different era]. Also the reason why the nationalist policies remain the mainstay at BNP is because they understand very well while Bangladesh is largely a secular country the religiosity and in some cases fundamentalism has risen there steadily. Army can count on the support of General Ershad’s party ( has a distinct anti-women flavor at the base) and Jamaat ( fundamentalist) vote as well. I am not saying this is good or bad….just stating the political reality.

As for the elite support or the middle class support….I think as of now this government has +-85% for it. This is after all the middle classes last attempt at saving the country their last hurrah. Next can be a revolucion of the “destitute” which will have zero international support ( I mean western, japanese, chinese or arab support….india may support such a development) as that will by its very nature will be “Chavezesque”. Any such move will lead to excesses and therefore a 1975 like counter ‘revolucion’ with the support of the same actors as before…and the country will slide to full fledged civil war. …resulting in a somalia-like situation [God forbid].

BREAKING NEWS: Khaleda has demanded the immediate release of Hasina

LMAO

BREAKING NEWS 2: Another VIP will be housed with Hasina.

ROFL….imagine the battling begums interned together at the same house. Oh God…the horrors….rofl.

Syed has beaten me to the news I see.

Jyoti bhai, given our elite-friendly psychology, all Khaleda needs to do is claim that she was misled by Bhuiyan, Babar and co. and the AL-base will lap it up, especially since she has now called for the release of the netri. Online you can see how AL-ers used to be anti-civil society until some shushil came and said something good about them. Same dynamic with Khaleda I feel.

The 1974 famine is an interesting case. It’s like our education/cultural institutes have forgotten it completely. By your reckoning, 1975/1971 should also be forgotten issues, but no, they’ve been kept alive. Anti-Islam and anti-India still has much more purchase than famine (sadly) as potent anti-AL rhetoric. At least from my limited experience. Will keep a lookout for this anti-BNP front.

Syed/AsifY,

In 1991, AL polled 30% of the voter in a turnout of 55% - that’s 16.5% of all eligible voters. In 2001, it polled over 41% in a turnout of 75% - that’s 30% of all eligible voters. So AL’s support did go up, a lot of people who voted AL in 2001 didn’t vote for them in 1991. And the only serious polling done in Bangladesh - by Nazim Qamran’s people - show that most of the rising support has come from a younger generation. Their research also show that in 2001, AL outpolled BNP-JI among the first time voters. BNP’s control of student politics is very much a thing of the late 1980s - there’s a reason that JCD head was Shahabuddin Pintu.

Now, this still means that 45% of eligible voters voted against AL in 2001, and unless that 45% is split, AL can’t win an election. Add to that, until atleast 2001, Khaleda’s personal approval was muvh higher than Hasina’s. And then, again at least until 2001, BNP’s campaigns used to be lot better conducted. So in any 2-way contest, you’d be absolutely right in saying that BNP was the favourite.

But these are all backward looking analysis. I think post-1/11, our politics will go through a fundamental reallignment. It’s pretty clear that there will be a King’s party or coalition. But there will also be an opposition. The King’s party will draw support from both sides’ of yesterday’s divide. But so will the opposition. And Hasina may very well turn out to be the leader of that opposition.

Finally, on Jamaat. Jamaat’s objective is to have an Islamist state as par its own understanding of Islam. Their method, publicly stated, is to build up a critical mass in the ‘key sectors’ before ensuring a peaceful revolution. In the process, they’ll build tactical alliances as they become avaiable and necessary - that is, they can as easily join forces with Hasina or the current regime as they did with BNP in 2001. They are absolutely adamant about the ‘peaceful’ nature of their revolution. Their lesson from the Liberation War, again available for anyone interested, is that they will not be able to win a war with India. They’re satisfied with their rising influence in every sector except for one - the army. This may now be changing - see the UV post by tiktiki.

Jyoti,

First off kudos on a very good post. Quite factual. I’ll have to look further into the new voter survey you talk about and the methodology used before I can comment on that.

I agree with the rest of your assessment about a new allignment and there being a king’s party.

However I take issue with the statement that Jammat has a rising influence on key sectors. I happen to disagree. Name one sector among professionals ..[I don't count maulvis as professionals] or name one major industry in BD where Jamatis either dominate or have a controlling influence? I see none. I don’t see Jamaat influencing Bangladesh army either despite the possible presence of a one or two officers here and there who may be personally Jammat supporters. BNP-JP/(Center right) has a lock on the army for the forseeable future. Bangladesh is not Pakistan and DGFI is not ISI…even though both the armies/intel agencies face the same enemy namely Indian armed forces/RAW.

Syed,

I’m not claiming that Jamaat is controlling anything. I’m stating what Jamaat’s own analysis - available through their electronic and print publications. According to their analysis, their influence has risen to their satisfaction everywhere except in the army.

I have never worked in Bangladesh, so I am not in the best position to know how strong they are in any sector. One sector that I do know however is the Shariah/Islamic finance sector. In the last 5 years a number of organisations, all Jamaat-linked, providing Shariah consistent finance have come up. These organisations work outside the ambit of the Bangladesh Bank, so it’s hard to say how much influence they have over the financial sector. But the fact that there are ‘banks’ outside the central bank control itself is telling.

Hearsay has it that JI influence is increasing in the education institutes outside Dhaka. You are all free to contest that claim as much as you like and I won’t defend it based as it is on hearsay.

Jyoti bhai, have to add my voice to Syed: excellent post. Are these polling results available online? Do send us some links.

Jyoti,

These shariah compliant institutes while run by Islamics of various color are not all uniformly controlled by Jamati Islami. They also have limited influence on the economy. Their real financial power is still from the gulf countries…they after all are the largest investor and second largest source of foreign currency for us.

Asif,

There is some truth to your hearsay. But people are aware of this challenge…and others are resisting it. SO its not a shoo in for them.

Detailed results for 1991, 1996 and 2001 election are available here.

http://elive.matamat.com/index.php

Great data for anyone who wants to spend time and energy. I planned to write a simple programme that would impose 1991-1996 changes on the 2001 result to predict a 2007 outcome. That 2007 baseline could be adjusted for specific constituency related developments (party jumping etc). Of course this never happened, and as discussed, the fundamental shifts happening now will make this analysis good only for history.

As for the opinion polls, they were reported in the media. AL’s claim that the 2001 election was rigged (and BNP’s claim that this was a ’silent revolution’) crowded out the polls and the quantitative analysis from the front pages, but they were there in the back sections. More recent polls were widely reported late last year.

On the Jamaat influence, let’s say that Jamaat is happy with its progress in sectors other than army. Personally I am not worried about Jamaat taking over anytime soon, but I won’t argue that others shouldn’t be.

Jyoti bhai, excellent comments. And the data will be extremely helpful to slice and dice.

A quibble though (quibble - you’ll have realized by now - is one of my favorite words): It simply is not accurate to say that the Islamic finance institutions in the country are operating outside of the ambit of Bangladesh Bank. Bangladesh Islami Bank, for example, got its license way back in 1983. (See http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/I_0112.htm) . The Islamic banks do report their information to Bangladesh Bank like everyone else. See for example BB’s annual report in 2006.

Saif, not all Islamic finance institutions are Jamaat linked, and some of them operate very much within the BB’s bounds. But duirng the BNP regime a bunch of institutions cropped up without BB approval. I’ll see if I can come up with some names.

AsifY/Syed, to clarify the anti-BNP sentiment, anti-BNP doesn’t mean pro-AL, just like anti-AL doesn’t mean pro-BNP. Given the experiences of the 1970s, a lot of people were completely alienated from AL. Many of them became BNP voters, many supported Ershad, and many simply didn’t vote. Similarly, given the experience of the past quarter century, many of the post-1970s generation (we need to have names for our generations - anyone wants to do a post?) are turned off by BNP, or more specifically Khaleda and family. Some of them could have voted AL if the Jan election was held. Others could have just stayed home. And now, some of these group may be lured by the King’s party.

Finally, on the civil war point, as I said in AsifY’s blog, the army rank and file, your majors and captains and their NCOs and jawans, they are from the same middle class that the political activists are from. If there are 500,000 people in Dhaka street, no one will drive their tanks. So forget 1971, even a Tiananmen style crackdown is not likely if AL (or the other side) could mobilise their supporters. And look how AL is being neutralised? What does AL base care about more - here-and-now justice for Hasina, or historical recognition for Mujib?

Jyoti
Well, based on the 2001 election results that you posted ( the link above) BNP got 198 seats, Awamis and left got 64 and assorted fundamentalist parties got 31 seats.

Now discounting for its misrule BNP may lose half the seats to king’s party JP and may be to awamis. Still they’ll get give or take 90 seats. Awamis even if they improve their performance by 50% they will get give or take 100 seats at best.

That leaves JP and Ferdous Quraishi’s king’s party, LDP etc and the fundamentalists to split roughtly 100 seats amongst themselves.

In this situation I see no outcome that can take awami league to power. So don’t you think it is a rational choice on the part of RATS to think of joining the king’s initiative? Awamis may well come out as the largest party individually but JP-sans Ershad and others will join their army-engineered brothers not the awamis to form a coalition. In this scenario…all these constitutional reforms also make sense. With a pliant BNP (minus Khaleda) the powers that be can ensure the coming government has a two thirds majority on its side. Perhaps that is the reason so far the crackdown on Jamatis/JP have been relatively mild. They have a role to play in the game at later stages. ‘Minus two’ is part of a much grander scheme of revolutionary change it seems.

Syed, I am not sure that the electoral math in the first past the post system we have backs your argument. Even a relatively small shift of 2-4% can mean that 20-40 seats change hands. A 10% shift will result in a landslide. Isn’t that why the BNP won last time? Remember, it’s a first past the post system… Even if AL does not have an increase in the %age of votes, if the anti-AL faction is fractured, AL’s probability of winning, and winning big, rises significantly.

Jyoti bhai, AsifY bhai - am I right?

Saif bhai,

I like how I’ve become “AsifY bhai” mostly because it rhymes. But please, enough of this formal bhai business. I’m sure we’re both the same age and even if we weren’t it hurts my illusions of everlasting youth :)!

The math is not as simple as either you or Syed has put it simply because of the member-constituency voting/FPP system. The assumption behind Syed’s model it seems to me is that voter sentiments will shift in certain “swing” districts only, so that each party’s seats in Parliament will show the difference in those districts only. Syed, please feel free to correct me.

The assumption behind yours is that small shifts will occur evenly all constituencies across the country, which will be reflected in mass changes in seat holdings.

Now off the top of my head, I cannot say which assumption is better without having done empirical work. Neither will hold strictly to reality for sure. I just found out that Jyoti bhai has put the link up there and will take a look as soon as I can. But yes, it always helps to remember that ours is a FPP system, and as such, tends to conflate majorities as you point out. It is also a reason why small parties do not find enough voice in such systems, a key reason I would advocate that we move to proportional represenation systems.

Saif,

I am not going by Jyoti. assertions on the earlier post but with the website link he provided. If the Anti-AL factions co-ordinate nomination and seat contest…kindda split the seats amongst themself at army’s behest then they can outspend AL in any given [given that they have to focus on less seats individually] constituency. So I don’t see how AL can win and win big. Rethink your math.

Asif,

there are seats that are bastions of this party or the other and there are swing seats. All politics is ultimately local. But post 1/11 election will be less local as the 2001 like I’ll shower you with money type campaigns can’t happen now. So you’ll see less businessmen trying their hands on politics to get government contract license etc. It will come down to organization and spending. While AL is certainly the best organized mass party [jamaat is more organized but they're not mass party] Al’s strength is somewhat limited in Rajshahi division and Chittagong division. So they’re disproportionately dependent on Dhaka division to win a majority. Now given that they will have to seriously contest all 300 seat and the right wing parties will be “guided’ to focus on specific seats…i see them being outspent and out manned on the street level. May be you guys have a different read of things.

In the pre-1/11 days, Nazim Qamran and others were talking about BNP-JI getting less than 100 seats against AL-JP-LDP-Islamists collective take of over 200, out of which AL would have gotten about 160 or so. The idea was that in about 30 or so seats, LDP/JP/Islamists would win with own strength, in about 20 seats, they’d win with AL help, and about 100 seats would move from BNP-JI to AL because LDP/JP/Islamists would reduce anti-AL vote by enough. In about 100 seats, the difference between AL and BNP-JI was less than 3% of actual voters in 2001. That is, assuming no pro-BNP surge in new voter behaviour, had the election been held, 100 seats would have changed hand if for every 100 voters, you could find 3 people who voted BNP-JI last time but this time would have said enough with this rubbish, screw you guys, I’m staying home.

Now, I haven’t done the seat-wise study. So can’t confirm the above para. But the above, or its variations, were widely reported last year. If the above is true, then it’s remarkable that AL boycotted the election. Personally, I find the decision to boycott extremely odd. Standing on 1/10, AL’s choice was:
1. participate in the election and win a landslide, with the risk that the election might be rigged;
2. boycott the election, with the risk that the election might happen anyway.

It chose the 2nd, and its threatened enforcement mechanism was so strong that the army intervened. But surely if AL had chosen the 1st option, it could still have enforced enough andolon in the event of a rigged election so that the army had to intervene. And if BNP failed to rig the election, according to the NQC analysis, AL would have won a landlslide.

So why did it boycott? Possible answers:
a. RATS were in on the conspiracy and made sure 1/11 happened by convinving Hasina to boycott;
b. NQC and others were wrong, and BNP-JI would have won even without rigging and AL knew it;
c. AL screwed up badly.

I frankly don’t know enough about the seat specific stuff to say if (b) is true, and perconally think (a) and (c) are equally likely.

As for the future, I won’t be as categorical about the seat allocation as Syed, but I think he is right in the gist of it - the regime would like to see a hung parliament and a national coalition.

Jyoti,

I’d appreciate if you can point me to a website or specific bibliography of the Nazim Qamran study.

Now..let’s assume that you’re right about the validity of this MQC study and there are no alternative studies that show differing results [ i know there are many including some done by inter services]….what would be RATS motive to betray awami leagu and join the army in 1/11. They will be at best ministers in either case right? So explain the rationale please.

If AL screwed up that badly…they were that out of touch with electoral pulse…how can they be a popular organization able to win a landslide.

Something has to give my friend:-)

Syed,

RATS’ motive might be their dislike of Hasina - it’s a cutthroat world my good man.:)

I don’t know if 1/11 was pre-planned or not. I can only speculate. And it’s entirely possible that the idea of an AL landslide is totally preposterous.

I don’t have any specific reference on hand, but here’s his son’s blog:

http://nazimfarhan.blogspot.com/

I’m not sure what the etiquette is, so I’ll leave it to your judgement whether you should asks Farhan about NQC’s work.