Does Hero Alam slap the conventional political trend? After the defeat, he pointed to the administration and said, “If I won, I would have called sir.”

This statement has created an uproar on social media. Create commotion. I don't understand this social media. Today they give garlands of shoes, tomorrow they give garlands of flowers. Hero Alam was criticized two days ago, now he is being praised.

A few months ago, in a conversation in Kolkata, someone said, “Dada, don't you have a hero there?” He is very popular. I looked surprised. I did not understand what you mean. Who are you talking about? I thought you might be talking about Shakib Khan. Because Shakib is quite popular in Kolkata. After a while, he said, “Dada, I am talking about Hero Alam.” Then I understoodd, he was being a bit sarcastic to explain the quality of Bangladeshi acting.

Hero Alam is also popular in Kolkata due to social media. Like our civilized society, everyone mocks him there. Common people enjoy watching his videos and do gossiping.

I told my friend from Kolkata, many heroes of Bangladesh are popular in Kolkata. Why not talk to them? At one time Razzak acted. Alamgir has won many awards for his films. Now you see Shakib Khan's billboard in many places. The number of Ferdous films is also not less in West Bengal. Jaya is now moving to Mumbai after shaking West Bengal. All her films were successful here.

If you discuss only Hero Alam, will it be Dada? Still, it's good to hear that Hero Alam is also in the Kolkata market somehow. I did not go to the positive-negative discussion. Then he looked at me and said, “I am joking. Why are you being serious? Do you know, Hero Alam, Kakoli furniture advertisement gets trolled on social media platforms. I have seen it too. So I talked, nothing else.” I didn't talk about it anymore.

A few days after this incident, I saw in Dhaka that the police arrested Hero Alam. Ordered to fix the language of his acting. I was surprised. Acting has a language or not!

How will Hero Alam go out of society? In an age of taste starvation, people's entertainment is watching social media videos of abuse and slurs. He makes whatever he wants. Then releasing it to social media. There is no one to be seen anywhere. No control. I will not go into how Malaysia and Singapore are handling everything. No need to talk about regimental country China. Even in a democratic country like India, the government can remove sick videos from YouTube and Facebook if it wants. Know how it was possible, they shut down YouTube, Facebook for a few days. Business closed so the big bosses of the concerned came to India. Sat with government officials. YouTube, Facebook had to accept the decision of the Indian government to open offices in many cities including Delhi, Kolkata. Now one can't do whatever they want.

I don't know why the government is not able to take such a free position in Bangladesh. I don't like to talk about many things anymore. I saw many things in one life. Our healthy culture died out a long time ago. Shilpakala Academy has buildings in the district, upazila, but no event. Politicians don't think about these things. Administration does not go beyond responsibility. Everyone is just passing the time by passing everything by.

Once there was Jatrapala in villages. There was Palagan. Princess Lucky Khans used to go to urban from Dhaka. In winter, boys and old people would watch the dance of the princesses together with their faces covered with cloths. Groups used to go to see the circus. Baisakhi or winter fair used to have puppet dance. There was no shortage of waz mahfils. People went where they liked. No one opposed any arrangement. There is nothing now. Our playgrounds have disappeared in the city. Village boys do not go to the playground.

Many playing snake-ladders gambling for 10 taka on social media without work. Some saw Hero Alam's dance song video. But Hero Alam chose social media to earn his money.

While others make money by blackmail, anti-social videos, Hero Alam is making his own entertainment videos. The people of Bogura did not see his actions badly and voted for him. He came second in one seat after a fierce fight. Third in another. He lost by only 834 votes in the tense result. That causes huge talks in social media.

Someone writes, Hero Alam taught the politics and politicians of Bangladesh. He informed that it is not allowed to be proud of being a great leader. Go to voters.

I went to a wedding function on Alam's result night. Met with a senior leader of Awami League. He said, what happened in Bogura? After that, he said, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal’s (JSD) hobby of voting with torches is over now. This vote sent a big message for them. If they do not get the support from Awami League, they have no position in the polling field. They are just big talks.

In reply, I said, the general voters are now divided into two camps. The upcoming National Assembly polls will be limited to a battle of two symbols. Candidate symbol equation changed. Now, boat (Symbol of Awami League) must be needed in one side.

On the other hand, demand of BNP’s logo increased. The difficult message came for the candidates of the alliance-grand alliance. Many people thought that going to parliament was much easier. That day did not last. Kahalu-Nandigram said that becoming an MP is actually much more difficult than he thought. Anyone can take the challenge. The field will not be empty. If you do not have a relationship with the area, you cannot become an MP. The politics of press conferences and press releases sitting in Dhaka does not affect people. Both the symbol and the candidate should be with people.

The days of slogan politics are over. Negotiating has been a strategy of small parties to take the symbol so far. Bogura told many things.

Many are showing casteism in Hero Alam's candidature. Some asking, does Hero Alam qualified to be a legislator? Many people did not have this qualification in the past, not yet despite that, everyone went to the parliament. They sit like puppets. Do not speak during legislation. Do not give opinions on the establishment of human rights. Many do not go to the constituency. People are not given time. Why do some think that lawmakers have to do so much?

In countries like The USA, congressmen spend time in constituencies. Scheduled time for people. Apart from the House of Representatives, congressmen have offices in their own constituencies. There is a team in that office. That team listens to people's joys and sorrows every day. Take action.

My daughter interned in a congressman's office. She said, “Dad, sometimes people call and abuse the congressman about the state policy.” Those who pick up the phone have to listen. Calls come for minor matters too. Some need house rent, some want hospital or school admission of children. All calls are received by the congressman's office.

Congressmen change their phone numbers when they are busy in Parliament. But their offices are open. The office phone is fine. The image of politics is the same everywhere. In Bangladesh, the houses of real politicians are crowded from early morning. Leftist politicians have a different story. They believe that revolution will come only through lectures and seminars. Business MPs think there is no need to go to constituencies. The elections of 2014 and 2018 have alienated some people. Increased distance with leaders and workers. The alliance and alliance partners are the same. All they want is power sharing. It is the responsibility of the ruling party to make them victorious.

Bogura attacks on speech and rhetoric politics. Hero Alam fought hard. This reality must be accepted. If you believe in democracy, you must respect people's votes. Unnecessary criticism is useless. Think of the tragic fate of the torch.

I was talking about this with my American expatriate friend Atiq. He said, “A hero Alam showed it. A whole evening kept the political workers of Bangladesh in tension. Many politicians were also upset by the fear of Hero Alam. Civilians were unstable. There was tension whether Hero Alam came to Parliament or not.”

In response, I heard one of Plato's words. Plato said, “As the people are, so are the states. The state is built by the character of the people. Hero Alam's vote is no different.”

I don't consider Hero Alam getting so many votes as a slap to society and politics. See it as a hard reality. This reality has come out many times in our society in the past. Such things can happen when politicians make mistakes.

While Ershad was in power, a person called Chhokka Chhoyfur took the lime light. He gave surprise by winning Sylhet Sadar Upazila election. Influential leaders like Iftekhar Hossain Shamim of Awami League stood against him. Shamim was defeated in that election. Chhoyfur won. The then ruling Jatiya Party also did not get good results. A simple man used to earn a living by driving a wheelbarrow. Standing at the polls was an addiction for him. In the upazila elections, common people paid the expenses by collecting money.

Hero Alam came after many years. He spent his first week of election campaigning in law-courts to get the candidacy right. Alam started his campaign on second week. He stood on two seats. He wandered around the two seats in prayer for votes. He went to the people. He didn't have a team. Work force, motorcycle showdown was not there. Mainstream media did not give importance. Social media was the first to laugh. There was no mountain of money. He was not a bank robber. He didn’t do corruption, irregularities, did not smuggle money. There are no allegations of weapons, terrorism, extortion. He did not harm the common people. He voted by capitalizing on his simplicity and reality. People did return him. Those votes received must be respected. All are equal in a democracy.

Writer: Editor, Bangladesh Pratidin