In that election, on the day of withdrawal of nominations on 13 December, 153 candidates were elected unopposed. The result was that one-third of the voters did not get a chance to vote. An attempt was made to show competition on the remaining seats. To this end, Public Works Minister Abdul Mannan Khan and Dhaka Member of Parliament Jalal Mohiuddin were defeated by rebel candidates.
Except for one thing, it is really difficult to separate the upcoming 12th parliamentary elections from 2014. The difference is that the ruling Awami League party has approved independent candidates. At that time the government could convince 17 parties to participate in the elections. This time the number of parties has increased to 29, most of which exist only on paper. That is why now the focus is on making the negotiated seat distribution appear competitive.
Just like the ruling BJP and the Government of India, the opinions that the intellectuals and journalists of that country are also expressing in their media are nothing but a repetition of the views and policies of their government. What is even more surprising is that they are considering the need for stability in the neighboring country, in other words they are considering continuation of the existing government while ignoring the principles of pluralism and tolerance which are essential for democracy. There are the basics. Although it is only India’s national interest, they are propagating that it is necessary for Bangladesh also.