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Bangladeshis in Kolkata feel Awami League supporters may have deciding say
Bangladesh is gearing up for general elections on Thursday. This is the first parliamentary election in the country after around 18 months of political unrest
Sitting in the reception area of a guest house at Mukundapur in east Kolkata, 39-year-old Partha Pratim Mukherjee was busy scrolling his mobile phone, looking for the latest developments in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is gearing up for general elections on Thursday. This is the first parliamentary election in the country after around 18 months of political unrest following the exit of then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.
“I may not be present there as I have come to Kolkata for my treatment, but I try to keep abreast of the developments. The Awami League may have been banned from the polls but there is no doubt that its voters will be the deciding factor this election,” said Mukherjee.
A garment-merchant in Gazipir, Mukherjee has been coming to Kolkata for the past six years for treatment following a brain tumour diagnosis.
“Both the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Jamaat-e-Islami party have been trying to reach out to Awami League voters. While one section of them would definitely stay away from the polls, it is to be seen which way the other section that votes inclines. They could become a game changer for either the BNP or the Jamaat,” he said.
A series of pre-poll surveys conducted in the past two months by consulting firms, research organisations and think tanks suggest that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party was the frontrunner and that its new chairman, Tarique Rahman, is in pole position to be the next prime minister.
Around 12km away, another Bangladeshi national, Arpan Lahiri, who stays at a guest house on Marquis Street, has come with his 13-year-old son for his wife’s treatment at a private hospital on EM bypass near Salt Lake.
“Corruption, stability and economic development, inflation and unemployment and the ban on the Awami League are some of the key issues. A recent opinion poll said over 48% of Awami League voters may vote for the BNP,” said Lahiri.
For Aniruddha Das, a resident of Sunamganj in Sylhet who came to Kolkata for his wife’s treatment, the national referendum has roused his interest. “I am really looking forward to all this. On the one hand, the elections are being held without the Awami League, and on the other, we have the National Referendum,” said Das.
Election Commission data showed that first-time voters made up some 3.58% of the total 127. 7million voters.
