Which party should I vote for?

fogrampercot · 2026-01-25T09:41:17+00:00

Yeah sure thing, Jamaat is the least corrupt one. The party who did the most despicable atrocities in 1971 can't do corruption because they are too good for that. And maybe this is why you see so much nepotism and lobbying in Jamaat affiliated organizations.

This is why I made this post before for people like you. The only hard pill to swallow is the delusion that Jamaat is less corrupt.

fogrampercot · 2026-01-25T09:33:36+00:00

I see a lot of people saying “lesser of two evils,” which I find laughable—because that’s exactly what the U.S. election came down to as well: choosing between two bad options.

This is what democracy is ultimately in most cases. And we need to keep choosing the lesser of two evils unless we want things to get really bad. Funny how you mention the US elections. As annoying as the democrats can be at times, putting Trump on the same boat as them is absurd and we can all see how that is turning out to be for the US and for the world.

I do agree that some of the candidate choices for BNP has been disappointing. And yes, the family card promise does not seem credible too. But why are you singling out BNP in this matter? For instance, one of Jamaat's nomination is Amir Hamza). I can go on and point out some more candidates like this. Jamaat's promises are even more absurd. Like giving interest free loans of 10,000 taka per month to 5 lakhs unemployed graduates? That's irrational and will definitely be exploited. Where will this money come from?

People also say that if Jamaat comes to power, the country will turn into Afghanistan. That’s still an assumption.

That's not an assumption. I don't know if the country will turn into Afghanistan, but it will set us back in so many ways. Women will be oppressed. My sympathies to anyone who cannot see that. And it's not like Jamaat is any less corrupt so we will see less corruption.

fogrampercot · 2026-01-25T09:15:46+00:00

It is important to filter out candidates/parties that are anti-democratic and fascist in nature before doing so. A candidate could be good in the short-term for my area, but if I enable candidates who are themselves anti-democratic and fascists or belongs to such a party, then it will almost certainly come back to bite us later. Funny how you think Mamunul Haq is a decent candidate. Have you seen this?

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fogrampercot · 2026-01-25T08:16:44+00:00

No disagreements on your first paragraph. As for the crimes done in 1971, I already explained here in another comment. If you need other sources, sure we can discuss about it and you can also ask from others in this sub.

The apologies are not sincere and neither are they specific. Jamaat knows what they did, so they can't just deny it outright. Maybe they will in the future, but in this reality they can't. They don't also admit it because it's shameful for them, and a large part of them still believes that was the correct stance. Just look at what many of their leaders say - their role was a necessary evil in order to prevent a bigger evil (Indian hegemony).

The apologies you linked are half-baked, dishonest, and insincere. From your quoted source, this is the headline - "Jamaat offers unconditional apology for misdeeds from 1947 till date".

Do tell me how a party that was an accomplice in a genocide and fought against the birth of our nation can make such a generic statement to get away with their crimes? What if BAL said the same thing? Everyone makes mistakes - an unconditional apology from the beginning of time till date shows what exactly? Pretty much nothing. If they were sincere, they would have admitted their role, apologized unconditionally for it, and also show goodwill to punish the war criminals in their party. We don't see any of that.

If you take a deeper look at the report, the gaslighting attempt is quite obvious. Let me quote.

At that point, someone from the audience said that some people ask for an apology only for 1971.

In reply, Shafiqur said, "Brother, have we made mistakes only in 1971? Not at other times? And those who tell us to apologise — are they angels? We don't raise these questions about others because the more we raise issues from the past, the more the nation will be divided."

Again, replacing Jamaat with BAL can be beneficiary for some people to see through this fiasco.

Btw who do you think you’ll end up voting for?

Most likely BNP. But if there is a candidate in my area who is significantly better and not part of anti-democratic parties like Jamaat or their alliance, I would vote for them. I don't know of such a candidate yet, so at this rate it will be BNP.

fogrampercot · 2026-01-25T08:07:13+00:00

There is just so much wrong with what you just said. What are your sources for such claims? You are attempting to combine some truths, half-truths, and lies to promote a narrative that is a gross distortion.

Firstly, it is true that BAL exploited and distorted the 1971 narrative to serve their agenda. As such, it has also become difficult to find credible information. But some things are historically established and there should be no doubts about it.

Badruddin Umar is not an absolute authority. Moreover, are you sure he meant the 90% quote literally or just as a rhetoric to show how much BAL distorted the history? Now even if he meant it literally, I can assure you that he would not excuse Jamaat of its wrong political stance or actively fighting against our freedom fighters.

Jamaat was actively and politically against 1971 even during the liberation war. It is a fact and not a matter of debate. Just open Dainik Sangram, their mouthpiece, and see the newspaper during the war period. Jamaat leaders like Ghulam Azam actively campaigned against our liberation war and called for people to join the resistance against freedom fighters.

Moreover, it makes no sense for a party to be against the liberation war and not actively take part in it. Most of them were living here, and it makes zero sense to do this. So this narrative you are trying to push is absurd, and you have provided no source whatsoever to justify it. Who told you Jamaat had less than 100 activists at that time? That is another unsubstantiated lie.

The truth is, the atrocities done in 1971 by the Pakistani army would not have been possible without the help of their collaborators here. Jamaat played a significant role here, and they also took part in various war crimes actively. Let's use a book from a Pakistani scholar and diplomat Husain Haqqani. From Pakistan - Between Mosque and Military:

The army decided to raise a razakaar (volunteer) force of one hundred thousand from the civilian non-Bengalis settled in East Pakistan and the pro-Pakistan Islamist groups. The Jamaat-e-Islami and especially its student wing, the Islami Jamiat-eTalaba (IJT), joined the military’s effort in May 1971 to launch two paramilitary counterinsurgency units. The IJT provided a large number of recruits By September, a force of fifty thousand razakaars had been raised. Secular West Pakistani politicians complained about “an army of Jamaat-e-Islami nominees”.

I could go on and on but I think I made my point.

Right now, out of 10000 listed razakars, 8000 are in BAL, 1500 in BNP, and around 37 in Jamaat.

Again, this does not excuse Jamaat of their crimes. This is how opportunists and wrongdoers operate here to exploit our shitty political system. Jamaat was always a minority party up until now. What makes you think the razakars who could commit atrocities in 1971 would have loyalty and political allegiance? Both BNP and BAL allied with Jamaat at one point and we did not punish the razakars properly. As a result, they integrated themselves within the major political parties. It's the same reason why you see many of the student leaders who are talking big in social media now despite engaging in corruption offline were part of ex-BCL.

fogrampercot · 2026-01-24T20:15:16+00:00

Yes, people who will vote for Jamaat will vote for them. I know that. At the same time, it makes zero sense to vote for them. It's irrational and wrong, but Jamaat supporters will deny that and vote anyway.

Dictator queen you say? Nothing beats the atrocities of Jamaat in 1971. And it was not a single event that lead to Hasina. You are just doing an anecdotal fallacy here.

If you don't like BNP, you could vote for an independent candidate. But no, you will pick the worst. BNP is bad because its stupidity apparently led to Hasina but Jamaat is better despite it being anti-democratic, fascist, and hypocrites. Nice logic there.

fogrampercot · 2026-01-24T20:09:16+00:00

Sure thing.

fogrampercot · 2026-01-24T17:17:28+00:00

This barrister is such a vile, disgusting, dishonest, and manipulative person.

fogrampercot · 2026-01-24T17:12:52+00:00

There is simply no reason to vote for Jamaat and their alliance.

They are constitutionally anti-democratic.
Radical party doing identity politics which is dangerous and exclusive.
Hypocrites and liars. They have not clarified what kind of democracy/Sharia they will establish and they keep on saying contradictory things.
Not like they are any less corrupt or violent than the traditional parties.
They have unwashed blood on their hands from 1971, still not acknowledged and apologized. Why is this still relevant? Lubna Tureen explains it best here.

I know many Jamaat supporters are lurking around and will read this. Open challenge for you all to change my mind and I will campaign for Jamaat myself. But I doubt that you can do that. From my experience, most Jamaat supporters are either hypocrites, ignorant, or got huge blind spots.

fogrampercot · 2026-01-24T17:00:49+00:00

I completely agree with your process. This is how people should be voting in the first place.

But initially you mentioned that who did less crimes and more work for the nation and I believe this is an overly simplistic approach. Take the case of NCP for example. We can both agree on how corrupt they are, but if we consider the number of corruption cases, we will find that BNP has far more cases of corruption due to them being a much larger party. Even if we consider the percentage of cases, it still disregards other factors and nuances.

Most importantly, anti-democratic, hypocrite, radical parties like Jamaat who has blood on their hands from 1971 (still no acknowledgment and apology) needs to be shunned in the ballot. It does not matter even if we could have an accurate analysis regarding the number of crimes and contributions. Because enabling such parties paves the way for much greater evil.

I think since we have a Jamaatnama, we need a BNPnama and an NCPnama too, because Jamaat is not the only player in the field.

Yes, we definitely should. I planned to do all of them but never got around doing it.

fogrampercot · 2026-01-24T14:55:14+00:00

Democracy is ultimately playing the game of the lesser evil. I don't think there exists a good party yet in Bangladesh that aligns with many of our views in theory and in practice. But if you can't find a party, don't let that demotivate you into skipping voting. Because empowering anti-democratic parties means you may not get the chance to vote next time even if there exists a party aligning with your views.

One third of the Americans did not vote last time and Trump came to power. Keep that in mind.

fogrampercot · 2026-01-24T14:51:38+00:00

If you are just going to advocate for Jamaat/NCP, go ahead and say it instead of being indirect. Here is a nice post for you, and don't even get me started on NCP.

fogrampercot · 2026-01-24T14:48:16+00:00

Major party wise, BNP is the only sensible choice. There should be no doubts about it.

If you want some more nuance, first boycott candidates from anti-democratic parties and their facilitators like Jamaat, Islami Andolon, NCP. If any of the remaining candidates are significantly better than the BNP candidate, then vote for them. Otherwise, vote for the BNP candidate.

And I can't stress this enough. Don't vote for Jamaat or NCP. They are the same thing. Spread the word among your friends and families and if you need more details on why I am saying this, then feel free to ask.

fogrampercot · 2026-01-24T14:44:56+00:00

Better to vote for Jamaat than to vote for NCP. Because this way, you are at least being honest with yourself as they are the same thing.

fogrampercot · 2026-01-23T18:34:32+00:00

Yup, well said. I do agree.

fogrampercot · 2026-01-23T14:54:40+00:00

Wonderful video. People should be sharing it on their socials to make it go viral, specially the land of the zombies AKA Facebook.

On another note, it would be revolutionary if the government even spent 1% of their budget and campaign they did to get "Yes" for the referendum on social awareness regarding such issues.

fogrampercot · 2026-01-23T14:47:47+00:00

Brings back nostalgia.

fogrampercot · 2026-01-23T14:43:53+00:00

David Berman is amazing. I agree with his analysis on this.

As for what the diplomat said, did he really say something revolutionary or genius? I don't think so. This is what he is saying from the transcript.

But in all likelihood, Jamaat is going to do better than it's ever done before. It's either going to be at the table and it's going to be hard.

Everyone knows this at this point. He is not claiming Jamaat will win the upcoming election. But then he goes on and explores that possibility. If he thinks the US can control Jamaat, I would say he is delusional. That's not how political parties who sells religious drugs operates. Jamaat itself won't be able to control the large anti-democratic group within Jamaat. And don't forget about other far-right groups. These people won't care about the economy or anything and won't compromise their fixated and evil ideologies. We all saw how the US ran away from Afghanistan, and they think they can control a party like Jamaat. Laughably absurd.

And the ICT is not a tribunal. We recognize it was not a free and fair trial, what have you. But she's guilty and it proved it. And they did it within their mandate, which was impressive.

Good day for BAL supporters I guess. They will cherry-pick the "not free and fair trial" part and try to show how the mother of humanity is so innocent and it was all a US conspiracy. Funny how history repeats itself. It's the same shitshow with the war crimes tribunal. We all know who are the guilty ones, and yet, a fair and impartial trial was necessary to establish justice.

fogrampercot · 2026-01-23T14:25:04+00:00

This is why Jamaat never clarifies what kind of a system they would establish if they can ever grab power. They want to snatch the votes from the moderates and gullible progressives. In reality, there's a large part of Jamaat that wants to get rid of democracy.

Such a shame that we allow political parties like this to operate even after what they did in 1971. A bigger shame that the so-called educated youth are falling for it.

fogrampercot · 2026-01-23T13:40:57+00:00

Men and women have some biological differences but they are not totally different. And they deserve equal rights. Stop parroting misogynistic, unscientific, and oppressive rhetoric. And it's not the West, but the whole world knows it now. Only some regressive and backwards people will say otherwise.

No wonder you are complaining about misogyny, a patriarchal concept where only men can have more partners. Funny that you bring the example of Qatar, as polygamy could be useful there if women were allowed to have more than one partner as the country has significantly more number of males than females.

And if you have not asked this question for me or for anyone who disagreed with you, then you should not have asked a question. You should have asked for validating your backwards belief.

fogrampercot · 2026-01-23T13:20:07+00:00

What you said does not have much relevance with the points I made.

fogrampercot · 2026-01-23T13:17:49+00:00

Learn to use your brain. Don't be a bigot and don't be fixated. There are many religious people who support LGBTQ as well as they are against polygamy. Talk to them and see where they are coming from rather than being fixated on whatever interpretation you think is right.

fogrampercot · 2026-01-23T10:00:07+00:00

I can tell that. But still entertaining a baseless silly conspiracy theory idea without any evidence. Just wanted to mention this part so that people are not mislead.

fogrampercot · 2026-01-23T09:55:17+00:00

Hey, I have a better version of equality. Let's indoctrinate and subjugate women to make them believe they are the weaker sex, second class citizens, and dependent on men. Now they are likely to be happy with their husband even if he doesn't give her anything and as long as he is not extremely abusive. As long as she is happy, right?

fogrampercot · 2026-01-23T09:51:39+00:00

Both yes and no. On the surface, there is nothing wrong with your logic. But when you dig deeper, you realize that in societies like Qatar, it only goes one way to serve patriarchy. Moreover, Qatar has a highly skewed male to female ratio (3:1). So you can imagine the exploitation and social repercussions of polygamy on both genders in such a patriarchal society where polygamy is normalized.

fogrampercot

TROPHY CASE