Deaths in party infighting unacceptable

After the unprecedented mass uprising of students and the general public on August 5, it was hoped that political parties in Bangladesh would come to some realization. It was expected that they would no longer engage in internal conflict and bloodshed and they would focus on building a better country. But sadly, the culture of political degradation continues as before.

Party members are being killed and injured due to internal strife. There is ongoing resentment among activists, disagreements among leaders, disputes between the main party and its affiliated organizations, and conflicts over personal interests and local dominance. Over the past eight months, clashes have resulted in the deaths of 51 party leaders and activists, while more than 400 have been injured.

According to reports published in the media today, Saturday (12 April), from the fall of Sheikh Hasina during the uprising on August 5 last year to April 9 of this year, at least 48 such clashes have taken place, leading to these casualties. Available information shows that in many cases of violating party discipline, the BNP high command has taken organizational action against many individuals. In incidents of murder, leaders and activists of the BNP and its affiliated organizations have been named in cases. Over fifty activists have been arrested, and the BNP has expelled 47 leaders.

According to the data from the human rights organization Human Rights Support Society (HRSS), in March of this year alone, 17 people were killed and 502 injured in BNP's internal conflicts. Their data shows 97 incidents of political violence occurred across the country in March, 88 of which were due to internal conflict within the BNP.

The question is, why is there so much infighting within the party? Why are activists getting injured or killed in these internal disputes? Data analysis shows that the root cause of these conflicts is the struggle for dominance. In our country, the notion of political culture is often just a lip service. In reality, there is no democratic practice within political parties. Their main aim is to assert dominance through force, by any means necessary. They seem more interested and active in the division of spoils.

Currently, the Awami League has no political activity. Taking this opportunity, other parties are trying to secure their own interests. They are losing sleep over who can grab what first. This has been going on for the past 53 years in our country. When one party is ousted from power, another takes its place only to abuse it and join the plunder. Since independence, politics in this country has been all about occupation. All political parties have been chasing after power through force and exploitation. As a result, many ordinary people have lost faith in politics altogether.

This implies that a tendency toward depoliticization has gained support both directly and indirectly from the general public and the politicians. But this is not a good sign for the country. It will not lead to any positive outcomes. The consequences have already been seen in the past, and everyone has had to suffer from it in some way.

The country is currently going through a reform process as well as various crises. If party infighting cannot be stopped during this time, the consequences will not be favorable. Political parties must act with greater responsibility to halt this internal strife. Otherwise, one day they will have to answer to the people. Based on past experiences, they would do well to remember that.