ABSTRACT
The 1991, 1996, 2001, and 2008 elections in Bangladesh may indicate a marginal change, but the earlier tendency of the electorate in Bengal, since the beginning of mass politics in about 1905, was to support a single leader and a single issue. This tendency has been a major factor in Bangladeshi politics. The opposition parties led by the Awami League coalesced and countered the BNP's hold-onto-power strategy with street politics and demonstrations, mass strikes, work stoppages, and economic disruptions, bringing Bangladesh close to collapse. Husain Shaheed Suhrawardy agreed with Fazlul Haq that the Krishak Sramik Party would govern in East Pakistan while Suhrawardy went to West Pakistan to represent Bengali interests there. The new Awami League was unable to make serious inroads into the west wing of Pakistan, although it formed alliances with shortlived opposition groups in the west. Ziaur Rahman was born in Bogra district and attended the Pakistan Military Academy.
