Like in India, the left in Bangladesh is currently anaemic; unlike its Indian counterpart, however, the Bangladeshi left has been in this state for decades. Contesting under the Awami League symbol of the boat, the Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) won three seats and the Workers Party two during the ninth Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) election, in December 2008. Yet contesting in the same election under the JSD's own symbol (a flaming torch), its two other candidates failed miserably, as did two candidates contesting for the Workers Party. The other left parties – including the CPB, NAP, BSD, Gonotantri Party and Biplobi Workers Party – collective ly floated 118 candidates in the polls, but secured a combined total of less than 110,000 votes. Such pitiful results only re-emphasise the continuing weakness of Bangladesh's left parties among the people.
There are about two dozen leftist political parties in Bangladesh, though only seven or eight are visibly active in terms of meetings, rallies and protests. The remaining few restrict themselves to statements and press notes in the media. But many are happy enough to receive invitations to formal functions at Bangabhaban, the president's official residence, and the various diplomatic embassies. While the parties do have leaders (who attend such events), their workers seem non-existent. As such, many of these parties exist in name alone.
It has not always been so. During the early 1980s, many college and university students moved towards left politics. But today, this trend has vanished. Political analysts suggest two main reasons for this decline. The first includes the collective impact of the upsurge of capitalism, growth of consumerism, onset of globalisation and fall of the Soviet Union. The second is a general sense of mistrust amongst leftists that prevents the formation of a unified front, which in turn keeps away potential supporters. Inner-party functioning certainly contributes to the general sense of cynicism. Saiful Haque, general-secretary of the Biplobi Workers Party, and Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) leader Mujaheedul Islam Selim both say that many left leaders today are unwilling to make the necessary sacrifices or take risks in the current climate. Furthermore, they say, such leaders are too ready to compromise with 'capitalist values' in their eagerness to become MPs or ministers.
Others suggest that there is too little independent thought amongst the left leaders. Farhad Mazhar, a columnist and political thinker, calls the left in Bangladesh "dominantly pro-Indian", and dictated by the political discourse of the US-led 'war on terror'. He says that many leaders simply parrot US foreign-policy terms such as 'fundamentalism' and 'Islamism'. In this, they largely lack their own class analysis of Bangladesh society and international politics. "The democratic left, who fought against the oppression of the Pakistani state and also fought for a democratic revolution, has declined mainly because its members did not resolve the relation between the military and political mobilisation of the masses," says Mazhar.