Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The death of Bangladesh’s First Lady Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia, comes at a time when the country is gearing up for a very crucial election on February 12.
Zia (80) died on December 30 after a prolonged illness. She was on life support for the last couple of weeks. While Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has been on course to win the elections, experts say the chances now are that it will get a larger number of seats. A sympathy wave would surely be a factor during the elections, and this is bound to help the BNP considerably, experts say.
Bangladesh watchers say that owing to health reasons, Zia has been out of the mainstream for quite some time. While the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami were together during the events that led to the ouster of Sheikh Hasina, the two parted ways afterwards. Despite being coalition partners when the BNP ruled the nation, this time both parties decided to go solo in the upcoming elections.
Another event that bolstered the BNP’s chances was the return of Tarique Rahman, the son of the late Khaleda Zia. He drew an impressive crowd, and the fact that he returned to Bangladesh has infused fresh life into the cadres of the BNP, experts also say. Experts feel that Rahman, who filed his nomination papers from two constituencies, is the frontrunner to be the next Prime Minister of Bangladesh. When he returned from London after a 17-year exile, it became clear that he would play a big role in Bangladesh politics.
Recent opinion polls have shown that the BNP is ahead of the Jamaat and the newly formed National Citizen Party (NCP). However, these polls also indicated that the Jamaat was not far behind the BNP. The NCP, which was a distant third, is expected to be pushed down further owing to the multiple splits within the party. Zia’s death is expected to change much of the situation, as the BNP would clearly ride the sympathy wave. The outpouring of grief across the country following her death only shows that she remained a popular leader in the country.