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. Play to win learn to lose

Abdul Mannan
HUMAN nature is such that no one wants to lose in a game, especially if the game is politics.
Competitors want the game to end with the ideal win-win outcome. Though such an outcome might be a possibility in the world of diplomacy, it is not in the world of politics. There are winners and losers, especially if it happens to be a democratic system.
Defeat should be accepted with grace, even if it means swallowing a bitter pill. In politics, the losers always try to discover their causes of defeat in the opponent's camp. They normally cry conspiracy, intrigue, rigging to justify their claim.
The Four Party Alliance expected to win the election. The pragmatic thought the battle with the Awami League led Grand Alliance would be close. Now the world knows the result. The Grand Alliance won more than two-thirds
majority and has already formed the government. Keeping with our past political culture, the Four Party Alliance cried foul, and boycotted the oath taking ceremony of the new government.
Jamat leader Nizami is surprised that in his constituency 80 to 90 percent of voters cast their votes. He even demanded an enquiry. The nation is surprised why, in his constituency, and in constituencies where Al-Badar commanders were contesting, the election the turn out was not 100%'. Begum Zia and her cohorts still believe in the conspiracy theory and declared that people's verdict has not been reflected in the result. Now a bit of lesson from history, if she cares to read.
War time British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who was instrumental in winning the war along with Roosevelt and Stalin, lost the election, held within two months of the end of the war, to Clement Attlee and his Labour Party. The
result of the election was almost totally unexpected, given the heroic status of Winston Churchill, but reflected the voters' belief that the Labour Party would better able to rebuild the country. The Labour Party ran on promises to create full employment, a tax funded universal National Health Service, and cradle-to-grave welfare state, with the campaign message "Let us face the future."
Churchill and his Conservative Party (like Begum Zia and her Alliance) ran a poor campaign in comparison to Labour; Churchill's statement during the campaign that Attlee's program would require a Gestapo type organisation to implement was considered to have been particularly poorly judged by the electorate. Equally, whilst voters respected and liked Churchill's wartime record, they were distrustful of the Conservative's domestic and foreign policy record in the late thirties. Churchill made a comeback in 1951, became the prime minister and later won the Nobel Prize for literature.
One of the most successful and iconic prime ministers in India's history, Indira Gandhi, lost the election in 1977. She had President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declare a state of emergency following the High Court Order on June 12, 1975 that her election to Lok Sabha be declared void on grounds of malpractices in an election
petition filed by Janata Party's Raj Narain.
The court ordered her to be removed from her seat in Parliament and banned her from running in elections for six years. When she appealed the decision, the opposition parties and their supporters, eager to gain political capital from the situation, rallied en masse -callingfor her resignation.
A catastrophic situation followed, resulting in the declaration of emergency. Thousands of political activist were detained without trial, her son Sanjay Gandhi launched a campaign of clearing slums from Delhi, which came to be known as Gharib Hatao, and forcibly imposed vasectomy on thousands of males. The people were not impressed.
In 1997, Indira called an election. One factor was the economic gains, though there may have been political considerations at play. She may have grossly misjudged her popularity by reading what the heavily censored press wrote about her. In any case, she was soundly defeated by Raj Narain. Sanjay Gandhi also lost, and Congress was cut down to 153 seats compared with 350 in the previous election.
Janata's election campaign was run on the theme of choice between democracy and dictatorship. Indira found herself without work, income or residence, until she won a by-election in 1978. In 1979, Indira Gandhi regained the people's
confidence and made a come- back -- and her Congress Party formed a government. She remained in office till her tragic assassination on Octobers 1, 1984.
In Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) the historic defeat of the powerful Muslim League and Nurul Amin in the election of 1954 to United Front of A. K. Fazlul Hoque, Bhasani and Surahwardi is one of the legendry episodes in our political history. Muslim League, the party that created Pakistan, believed that they would stay in power for a hundred years.
The writer teaches at ULAB and is a former vice-chancellor.
Chittagong University.
The voters had the last say. All-powerful Nurul Amin was defeated by young student leader Khaleque Newaz. Muslim League never came back
Begum Zia and her party and alliance are not the first in the history of stunning election defeats, nor the last As a politician you just have to learn to accept defeat with grace and begin preparation for playing for a better next innings. Play to win, learn to lose.
***Begum Zia and her party and alliance are not the first in the history of stunning election defeats, northe last. As a politician you just have to learn to accept defeat with grace and begin preparation for playing for a better next innings. Play to win, learn to lose.***