Why Trinamool candidates hardly seen in campaign?

Initially boasting about fielding candidates in all 300 constituencies in the upcoming general elections, Trinamool BNP has ended up with 133 nominees in the race. Now, most candidates have fallen silent on the campaign trail.

Around 60 candidates have complained that the party's top leaders, Chairperson Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury and Secretary General Taimur Alam Khandkar, are not providing any support to them after putting them into the contest.

The Trinamool secretary general, however, has dismissed the complaint, saying, "Those who made these complaints are not members of the party. They are attempting to disrupt the election. Candidates from other parties in alliance with Trinamool BNP are making these claims."

At least 10 Trinamool BNP candidates from various parts of the country told The Business Standard that they did not receive the amount of money they were supposed to receive from the party fund. As a result, they are conducting their campaigns as much as possible through their own initiatives.

M Zamirul Islam Jowardar, Jhenaidah district president of Trinamool BNP and candidate for Jhenaidah-2, said that before joining the election, they were assured that expenses would be covered. However, no expenses have been paid thus far.

"I am financing my campaign with my own money, and I have some 20 people working for me. While I have managed to put up posters in some areas, my campaign is significantly less compared to other candidates," he lamented.

He explained, "The party is new, and most of its candidates do not have much money to spend. We have entered the race because the party decided to participate in the election. Our primary goal is to uphold the rules."

In Dhaka, Trinamool has candidates in 12 of the 20 seats. While there were a few posters and banners for the candidate of Dhaka-8, MA Yousuf, there were almost no posters or campaigns for any candidate in the remaining constituencies. 

Taimur Alam Khandkar told TBS, "Our party is new, so the campaign has to be done on a personal initiative. We provided Tk2-9 lakh from the party fund to the candidates in two phases."

However, he acknowledged that they could not provide the candidates with a substantial amount of funds.

The Trinamool BNP secretary general said there is no division in the party.

But he added, "Since I have been offered to withdraw from the election, there may be an offer on their part."

He also said party members who stay in Dhaka and do not engage in election work will not be given any money from the party fund.

In response to the question about the sources of election funds, he explained that money was earned through the sale of the party's nominations, and only a few party donors made contributions.

"No money came from anywhere else. We have not received any funds from the Awami League," he asserted.

Trinamool BNP candidates from various constituencies held a press conference on Friday, complaining that Shamsher Mobin and Taimur Alam are not looking after them. They claimed that 130 candidates from the party were with them.

At the event, Khandkar Emdadul Haque, the Trinamool candidate for Dhaka-15, said, "The chairperson and general secretary of the party are not keeping any contact with us. They are not looking into our pros and cons, how we are campaigning, and what we need."

"If the leaders had made decisions in consultation with everyone, Trinamool BNP could have fielded candidates in 300 seats and become the opposition party in parliament with at least 100 seats," he asserted.

According to political analysts, Trinamool BNP doesn't even have three candidates capable of creating a competitive race. Some members of the party may have a good image but lack the capability to win elections.