Delwar active on the field despite defeat

He is a loser on the field of voting. Not only is he a loser, but he has been swept away by the tide of his heavyweight opponent, the country’s influential local government minister and BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
But the political arena is a strange place; here, defeat at the ballot box is not the last word, as is now clear when you set foot in Thakurgaon, a district bordering the northern districts. The election clock stopped three weeks ago, but former Bangladesh Chhatra Shibir president Delwar Hossain has not stopped. Having shaken off the shame of defeat, he is now roaming from village to village in Thakurgaon-1 constituency.
Usually, the ‘tickets’ of defeated candidates are not found after the election results are announced. But in Delwar’s case, it is exactly the opposite. Sometimes he appears in marginal villages with the mantra of becoming self-reliant by distributing free cattle, sometimes he installs tube wells to address the lack of clean drinking water. The month of Ramadan is approaching, and before that, the way he is active in Iftar mahfils and public relations raises questions in political circles – is this Jamaat leader now preparing for the next war?
A section of political analysts in Thakurgaon believe that this is not just social service, but a long-term political investment. The way he is biting the dust despite knowing that he will lose against a tyrant like Mirza Fakhrul is seen as a positive by many locals. Ayub Ali, 75, of Uttar Hariharpur village, said, “Many people come during voting, but those who are around at the wrong time are the real ones.”
Jamaat’s activity is now noticeable not only in Thakurgaon-1, but also in the neighboring constituency of Thakurgaon-2. What does Jamaat really want through rapid public relations and charitable presence? Political observers are bringing up three things: demonstrating its united strength. Whatever the equation of the alliance with BNP, it will test their united strength at the grassroots.
Address the image crisis: Build a ‘service’ image by standing by the young community and the marginalized.
Future leadership: Keep the path clear for the upcoming parliamentary contest by keeping young faces like Delwar Hossain in front.
The dominance and political elitism of the Mirza family in Thakurgaon is undeniable. Mirza Fakhrul, as the local government minister after coming to power, is also not backing down. A delegation from the health ministry has already started verifying land to implement the promises of establishing Thakurgaon Government Medical College, reopening the airport and a public university. Analysts say that Fakhrul wants to unveil his political dominance through development during his tenure.
Delwar, on the other hand, has a different strategy. This time, he is attacking the small ethnic groups and the Hindu community, who are traditionally known as the ‘vote banks’ of the Awami League. He is desperate to prove himself as ‘non-communal’. Although many, like the princes of Jagannathpur Union, have clearly said, ‘I voted for rice husks to prevent extremism despite my reluctance.’
The arrest of Jamaat district chief Belal Uddin Pradhan at the airport with Tk 74 lakh just before the 13th parliamentary elections has given some jolt to Delwar’s vote, but the number of votes he has received has surprised many. It remains to be seen which way the political equation in Thakurgaon will turn now, especially in the absence of the banned Awami League. Is Delwar’s silent presence in Fakhrul’s fortress just a matter of courtesy politics, or a new tactic to put his paws in the rice husks’ house? Time will tell.