DHAKA: Tens of thousands of supporters filled the streets of Dhaka this week as rival political parties staged massive rallies ahead of Thursday’s parliamentary election. The mood was charged with the spirit of last year’s mass uprising, with parties competing to present themselves as the true agents of change for Bangladesh’s 170 million people.
Voters will choose representatives for the 350-seat parliament, with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) widely seen as a leading contender. The party is headed by Tarique Rahman, who returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in exile. His main challenger is Jamaat-i-Islami, the country’s largest Islamist party, led by Shafiqur Rahman and allied with the student-led National Citizen Party (NCP).
Addressing a sea of BNP supporters waving party flags and the symbol of a sheaf of rice, Tarique Rahman struck a confident tone. He invoked the legacy of his parents — former leaders Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia — to argue that only the BNP has the experience to govern. Heavy police presence surrounded the rally as he spoke.
The election follows dramatic political upheaval. Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted on August 5, 2024, after 15 years in power, and her Awami League party has been barred from contesting by the interim government — a decision criticised by human rights groups. Hasina was later sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity linked to a crackdown on protesters and is reportedly in hiding in India.
Meanwhile, Jamaat-i-Islami has campaigned on a platform of law and order. At crowded rallies, party supporters claimed a Jamaat government would curb extortion and violence. Its leader accused both the previous regime and post-uprising actors of abusing power, warning that corruption had persisted even after Hasina’s fall.
NCP leader Nahid Islam, a key figure in the student movement, echoed these concerns, accusing mainstream parties of sharing control over illicit businesses for decades. His supporters chanted slogans from the uprising such as “Long live the revolution!” and “Freedom, freedom!”Among the rally-goers was Tota Mia, a 58-year-old rickshaw puller who said he had listened to all sides before deciding to vote for Jamaat. For him, the choice was simple: “I just want peace.”
