Prime Minister’s political adviser HT Imam here on Saturday dismissed the possibility of any snap polls following the government’s soaring popularity as shown by a recent survey of US-based International Republican Institute (IRI).He made the remarks at the 128th episode of BBC Bangla Sanglap arranged at TCB Building at Karwanbazar in the city.BNP standing committee member ASM Hannan Shah, Prof Dr Salimullah Khan of University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) and executive director of Bangladesh Alliance for Women Leadership (BDAWL) Nasim Firdaus were also present there as panelists.HT Imam said the government is now at its most popular stage and there is no need of any interim election to prove its popularity. Several international surveys have shown that the government is on right tracks but the government is not interested at all to arrange any snap polls based on these surveys, he said.Expressing doubt over the IRI survey, ASM Hannan Shah said the survey covered a very little number of people compared to the vast population of Bangladesh and doesn’t represent everyone’s thought about the current government. “Personally, I don’t take into consideration the survey report and I also think the government will do so,” he said.Though Hannan Shah rejected the overall survey report, he supported one part of the survey where 67 percent of the respondents think the caretaker government system should be restored before holding the next parliamentary elections.Salimullah Khan said, “The government sometimes arranges by-polls election if it falls into trouble; but at this moment, I see no logical reason to arrange an election.” The IRI survey conducted on 2,550 random respondents in June 2015 said despite a continuing partisan divide on electoral issues, the ruling Awami League government has gained support of a majority of Bangladeshi respondents. The survey results also indicated positive public feelings about Bangladesh’s current economic position and optimism about both the respondents’ and the country’s economic futures.As per the survey, in the 18 months following Bangladesh’s parliamentary elections on January 5, 2014, support for the Awami League government and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reached 66 and 67 percent respectively. Bangladeshis were increasingly optimistic about the prospects for the country, with 62 percent of respondents indicating they believed the country was headed in the right direction.
