Bangladesh cricket star Shakib Al Hasan’s election run divides hometown

In Magura, a sleepy town in southwest Bangladesh, about 168km (104 miles) from capital Dhaka, more than a thousand people are gathered outside a circular-shaped auditorium.

The crisp winter air barely cut short their enthusiasm as they waited for Shakib Al Hasan – their “boy from the hometown” and arguably the biggest sporting icon in the South Asian nation of some 170 million people.

Hasan, currently the captain of Bangladesh’s one-day team, is ranked the number one all-rounder by the International Cricket Council in two of the three formats of the game simultaneously – one-day internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 – and is ranked third in Test matches.

It is often said that cricket and cinema are the twin obsessions of people in South Asia, with some cricketers turning into superstars and adored by millions of fans. Some cricketers used their popularity to foray into politics, the former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan being the best example.

‘You call it an election?’

In October, Bangladesh’s opposition parties announced a boycott of the election after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina refused to cede power to a caretaker government to hold the vote. Hasina, ruling with an iron fist for 15 straight years, is seeking a fourth term.

Thousands of opposition activists, mainly from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), have either been arrested or forced into hiding following a government crackdown since October, raising concerns about the legitimacy of the January 7 election.

Rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have also warned the crackdown on the opposition is aimed at subduing those against the government ahead of the vote. The government denies the charge, accusing the BNP of trying to sabotage the polls.

On Tuesday, the opposition parties began a new three-day campaign, asking people not to go to the polling centres, while the ruling party continued its poll campaign.

“The young people of Magura love him,” Noyon Khan, a pharmacy owner, told Al Jazeera, “They are very happy to see Shakib as our MP. Some people in the area hate him out of jealousy because he is rich and successful. But they are very few.”

Nazmul Aberdeen Fahim, veteran cricket coach whom Hasan once called his mentor, told Al Jazeera that people “misunderstand” the cricketer. “They think he is unapproachable. That’s not true. He is actually very down to earth.”

Fahim said Hasan has been able to break the mould of an “arrogant” star cricketer and has turned into a skilled communicator.

“He had it in him. You see, cricketers are advised to stay away from the public to concentrate on their performances. That doesn’t mean they can’t run public offices well. In fact, they can read the psyche of the common people better than most others,” he said.

Despite multiple attempts, Hasan refused to talk to Al Jazeera, saying he did not want to give any “interview to a foreign media”. Over a brief phone call, he however said it was “the right time to enter into politics” for him.

Journalist and political analyst Rezaul Karim Rony said Hasan perhaps is the best “representative candidate” of Hasina’s Awami League party.

“Arrogance, ignorance, lies, and not giving a damn to common people’s desires and demands – these are the hallmarks of Awami politics in the last decade. Shakib is a perfect embodiment of that.”

Terming the upcoming election as a “massive joke”, Rony said: “If you know the results before the election, it’s not exactly an election. It’s so disheartening to see sports icons and celebrities joining and promoting this charade.”