The sheikh clan’s passion for duty-free cars

In an environment of almost non-existent opposition and farcical elections, the candidacy of a party from the ruling Awami League was as good as one seat in parliament.

Therefore, candidacy for parliament required the giving of large sums of money and generous gifts. For parliamentary candidates from the southern regions, it was an unwritten rule that one of the gifts was to be a duty-free car, which MPs were allowed to import for personal use.

These cars will end up in the garages of party royalty, members of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s extended family.

This marauding royal family consisted of five brothers: Sheikh Helal Uddin (Sheikh Helal), Sheikh Salah Uddin (Sheikh Jewel), Sheikh Sohel Uddin (Sheikh Sohel), Sheikh Jalal Uddin (Sheikh Rubel) and Sheikh Belal Uddin (Sheikh Babu).

Of these, Sheikh Jewel was the MP of Khulna-2 and Sheikh Helal of Bagerhat-1.

Sheikh Helal’s son Sheikh Sharhan Naser Tonmoy (Sheikh Tonmoy) was added to this inner circle after being elected as a member of parliament from Bagerhat district in 2018.

In practice, the five brothers had little influence on party decisions.

What they had was the identity that they were Hasina’s paternal cousins ​​bearing the name of the great Sheikh; This was enough for them to rule over the southwestern parts of the country, especially Jashore, Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira and Jhenaidah.

They were key to securing party tickets and therefore used this influence to extract as many favors as possible from parliamentary candidates, including benefits for MPs.

Moreover, local people had a strong belief that the royal family had a certain quota and had significant influence when it came to recruitment, transfers to public works and tenders for the development of these areas, The Daily Star learned from the local AL. leaders.

This trend developed over the course of a decade as every person seeking the AL nomination for three to four districts in the south-western parts was under the impression that it was almost impossible for them to get the party nomination without satisfying the ‘royal family’.

It was customary for some would-be candidates who were not prominent themselves to shower the royal family with gifts, and handing over the duty-free car was an unspoken rule.

Some MPs haven’t even seen their brand-new sport utility vehicles but have had to pay the cost of registration, certificates of compliance and taxes.

“I just signed the form. I haven’t even seen my car. But I have paid all the taxes over the years,” a former MP from Khulna district told The Daily Star. he said and asked to remain anonymous because they did not give up their hopes of becoming a member of parliament one day. .

He does not know where the vehicle is now and whether it is still intact.

“I don’t know if it was burned in the mayhem since August 5. Now I’m not even sure if I have to pay taxes on the SUV,” he added.

But while the royal family is safely tucked away in India, away from public outrage, one hapless MP doesn’t know what to do about taxes and payments because he doesn’t even know if these cars are still running.

His predecessor, who was an MP from the same constituency between 2014 and 2018, was luckier.

According to local sources, since MPs are allowed to sell their vehicles within five years of import, he had to surrender his duty-free SUV to the Crown after using it for just one day and sign a forward-dated sales contract.

The situation was almost the same for another MP of the 2018-2024 government from the adjacent region.

The former MP, who was previously a high-ranking member of the AL’s student wing, had promised to give away his duty-free SUV but couldn’t find enough time to import a car and properly wet the royal beaks.

According to members of parliament, the extended Sheikh clan has started communicating with potential parliamentary candidates in Jashore, Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira and Jhenaidah, often well before the elections.

Candidates also sought the support of the royal family to secure the nomination.

Former MPs said the royal family members were powerful and it was not difficult for them to find out who Hasina had chosen for each constituency.

In reality, the royal family had little influence within the party but appeared to have significant influence in the decision-making process regarding nominations.

But once AL president Hasina made up her mind, they would pounce on elected MPs for gifts, including duty-free cars.

Sometimes there could be miscalculations.

For example, before the January election, a member of the royal family contacted the wrong candidate because their names were quite similar.

One was Sheikh Rashidul Islam and the other was Rashiduzzaman Morol from Khulna 6 constituency.

“They had confused one name with the other,” two AL leaders of that district told the Daily Star while narrating the anecdote.

According to sources, a member of the Sheikh family agreed with Rashid al-Islam because his chances were higher than Rashid al-Islam.

However, Hasina greeted Rashiduzzaman who appeared on 26 November.

This left Rashidul in embarrassment as he was confident of his candidacy considering the generous gifts he had offered to the royals.

However, the royal quickly attacked the AL candidate and demanded his symbolic ‘gift’.

According to a close friend of the late MP, the winning MP fulfilled his commitment and obligation to satisfy the royal family well before the election.

However, the former MP could not find enough time to import his vehicle.

The Daily Star was unable to reach the royal family for comment.