Quid pro quo for joining the ruling cartel

The citizens want the politicians to solve their problems and the politicians with discredited ideology -- in the words of a certain Chinese leader "are not interested in the colour of the cat so long as it catches the mice." Even in the most advanced democracies, political ideology is increasingly being portrayed as something to be compromised to pave the way for progress in a world in quest of quick fixes. The vast majority of career politicians and the educated citizens with strong political views are not overtly ideological (example: most politicians in Bangladesh enter politics to become rich, famous, and powerful).

The Jamaat-e-Islami, although ideologically indoctrinated (to rule by Shariah and dismiss secular democracy and freedom of media) has allied itself with a political party devoid of any character or principles. Like it or not, Jamaat joined the alliance with the purpose of deepening its ideological imprint among the populace, and has been succeeding. Former Speaker Sheikh Razzak Ali, recently alleged: "Jamaat has utilised government machinery to strengthen itself. It has not done anything for the country in the last four and a half years."

In my December 8, 2005 piece titled "Staying in power at all costs," I wrote: "The BNP functionaries must realise that when the soil under the heels is crumbling, all desperate manoeuvrings to stay in power at all costs may steer a third force to their disgraceful ouster and to the demise of democracy and freedom of the media." Perhaps mindful of analyses such as these, the BNP's leadership, for now, is running nervous and has started chasing and hustling corrupt politicians and felons to recruit as partners for an election victory.

This commentary is triggered by Ershad and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia's July 3 meeting of minds to design the political landscape for mutual interest. The discourse of the summit included Ershad's begging for the PM's mercy for his alleged 17 corruption cases, and one murder case, and for the return of his confiscated properties in exchange for joining hands with BNP and its religious extremists partners and not to align with the AL-led fourteen party alliance (FPA) in the next general election.

Inviting the JP to join the BNP-Jamaat alliance is fair enough, but coercing and hassling JP not to join the AL-led FPA to frustrate the competition (in this case a political rival) is manifestation of the classic foul play of wielding cartel power (henceforth, the ruling alliance will be referred to as ruling cartel). The FPA is not considered a cartel because this alliance has no cartel power. Apparently, the only power the FPA could display is Abdul Jalil's periodic huffing and puffing to bring down the government.

Ershad made his offer to join the ruling cartel conditional on the dropping of all the court cases against him. No sooner had the story of this connivance of a quid pro quo broken, Khaleda agreed with one of Ershad's demands, the immediate moratorium of all renovation work on the controversial Janata Tower building.

While the leadership of the ruling cartel is seeking legal opinion from eminent jurists on the withdrawal of corruption cases against Ershad, the FPA could seek legal recourse for such a quid pro quo arrangement. Besides, the FPA need not be too nervous about the expansion of the ruling cartel because the more splinter groups join the cartel the more unstable it becomes, like a house of cards (Ershad and Manju could not even keep their own party united).

The upshot of these news synopses is to analyse why the ruling cartel would become so desperate as to deal with discredited individuals of a financially burdened and politically beleaguered party. How would the life-long BNP loyalists react to such a move? These loyalists are already sacrificing dozens of parliamentary seats to the anomalous alliance partners. Now they will have to forfeit more seats if JP is brought under the umbrella of the ruling cartel.

I didn't realise how frantic the BNP leadership had become about its political future until I read about Khaleda and Ershad's possible quid pro quo deal in the making. After some thought, it became obvious that the ruling cartel finds the following developments as worrisome:

-- BNP's popularity has been eroding due to price hike of daily essentials, energy crisis, unabated police brutality on political protesters, labour unrest, and so on.

-- FPA's grassroots level activities, and its followers coming together with the common people, have been helping its popularity.

-- FPA's on-going movement against the government's failure on several pressing issues such as the reforming of the CTG, electoral reforms, voter list manipulations and demands for a new impartial EC are also swaying the common people against the ruling cartel.

-- Allegations of corruption against the PM's family, Hawa Bhaban, and the countrywide perception of the making of "millionaire ministers" during this term of the alliance rule have become an indelible stigma for the ruling alliance.

-- The looming internal feuds in every echelon of BNP leadership may have also added to the desperation of the ruling alliance to grab any left over political party like the JP.

For the ruling alliance, winning the next parliamentary election is of overriding importance in order to protect the millionaire ministers, MPs and party activists, and postpone potential charges of corruption against them. Losing power may be bearable but the thought of rotting behind bars is unthinkable. So trying to strengthen the ruling cartel with crooks, criminals and the corrupt is justifiable not only for political expediency but to save the very edifice of the party. According to anonymous BNP higher ups, Khaleda is already in pursuit of a number of other leaders of opposition parties including Anwar Hossain Manju, leader of the split JP, to bring into the ruling cartel ahead of the election.

Ershad is a convicted felon, guilty of corruption involving Rajuk plot allocation for which he was heftily fined and imprisoned. There are many other pending cases against him now under trial in the courts. How desperate BNP leadership would have to be to explore for a quid pro quo deal with a political party, the JP, led by a discredited former military dictator?

It is no surprise that people with phoney ideologies and beliefs would always gang up and become servile to "someone" who possesses the capacity to entice them with milk and honey, similar to a cult leader. All these efforts to expand the ruling cartel simply underscores the pervasive notion that "staying in power at all costs" is the only pragmatism the BNP high command professes to.

Dr. Abdullah A Dewan is Professor of economics, Eastern Michigan University.