'Democracy has won UP elections'

SM Kamal Hossain, organizing secretary of Bangladesh Awami League, said the Union Parishad (UP) elections are going smoothly. People are going to the polls, that's a big deal. This election is a victory of democracy. Who will win and who will lose in the election, is not a big issue. The way the BNP-Jamaat and their allies propagated the election in Bangladesh, the conspiracy to divert the people from the election, the people are going to the polls and voting in every election without stepping on their conspiracy.

He said this while talking to Bangla Insider on various issues including the fourth phase of UP elections, the collapse of the Awami League, and violence. Bangla Insider's own correspondent Oliul Islam has interviewed SM Kamal Hossain for the readers.

SM Kamal Hossain said, "Once again in this grassroots election, the common people have gone to the polls and elected the candidate of their choice." This is the victory of democracy. The victory of People's Leader Sheikh Hasina. As the leader of the people Sheikh Hasina believes, 'I will give my vote to whomever I please', the main goal of the people's leader Sheikh Hasina is to implement this belief. We think democracy has won the UP elections.

He also said, "People have participated in the elections". This is not to say that one or two isolated incidents did not happen. Of course, there have been isolated incidents. But this is what happens in every grassroots election. There is no period in which such isolated incidents have not taken place.

Asked about the rebel candidates of the Awami League, Kamal Hossain said, "The reason for the grassroots rebel candidates is that the candidates think that this election is not an election to change the power, this election will not change the power." As a result, many rebel candidates remain. They took a stand against the Nouka candidate. Many grassroots Awami League workers also voted for them. Besides, the communal forces which do not like the Nouka, the supporters of BNP-Jamaat also took a stand in favor of the rebel candidate. Combined with all this, many times the rebel candidate won. Even then, we think the election was held in a festive atmosphere. People went to the polls. Democracy has won, that is the big thing.

Asked if there was any nomination trade in the UP elections, he said, "I do not know of any nomination trade." Like journalists, I hear it. Again, I am not on the nomination board. But what I do know is that names are sent from the grassroots. There are names of five-seven people, often 10 people. From there, nominees are accepted. I don't know if there is any trade here.