Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami said Saturday it had accepted the “overall outcome” of the election won by the rival nationalist party, despite earlier having alleged problems with the vote count.

Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman, 67, had said on Friday (February 13, 2026) he would “seek redress” from the commission, with his party alleging “inconsistencies and fabrications”.

But on Saturday (February 14, 2026), he conceded defeat.

“In any genuine democratic journey, the true test of leadership is not only how we campaign, but how we respond to the verdict of the people,” Mr. Rahman said in a statement.

“We recognise the overall outcome, and we respect the rule of law,” he added.

— AFP

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), after 20-years, is set to stake claim to form government in Bangladesh by winning over 200 seats in Bangladesh general elections. Tarique Rahman, son of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman and former prime minister Khaleda Zia, is poised to become Bangladesh’s prime minister, revealed senior politicians in BNP.

Mr. Rahman won in complete majority from Dhaka-17, and Bogura-6, a BNP stronghold.

Bangladesh election results LIVE: BNP wins sweeping election majority, promise of stability

BNP’s origin

The BNP was formed in 1978 by Ziaur Rahman, the voice that declared Bangladesh’s independence over radio on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman after the Pakistani military launched Operation Searchlight.

After the 1971 War of Independence, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became the Prime Minister and in the coming years, brought in a constitutional amendment making him the “unimpeachable” President. The Bangabandhu and most of his family members were brutally gunned down on August 15, 1975 after a military coup. Army chief Brigadier Khalid Musharaf took over the regime and Ziaur Rahman was his deputy.

Ziaur Rahman’s role as a Deputy Army Chief marked turbulent period in Bangladesh. He gradually consolidated power and became President in 1977. Shortly after assuming presidency, he held a national referendum to support his role.

On September 1, 1978, Ziaur Rahman launched BNP as a party of “freedom fighters from the battlefield”, keen to promote a blend unique Bangladeshi identity and Bengali nationalism. He inducted politicians from Muslim league and leaders which were opposed to Awami League.

In 1979, BNP marked its first election victory, winning 207 of 300 seats. However, this was short-lived. On May 30, 1981, in a military coup, Ziaur Rahman was assassinated in Chittagong. Later, military ruler Hussain Muhammad Ershad seized power in 1982, sidelining BNP and other parties.

Rise of Khaleda Zia

Following Ziaur Rahman’s death, his wife Khaleda Zia became an identity of resistance against the military ruler and President Ershad. Her role from a widow to an unifying figure of BNP, soon resonated with the masses in Bangladesh. This mass uprising against Ershad marked a phase of hope for democratic rule in Bangladesh. The massive protests, fuelled by anger of students and communities across the country, Ershad to resign.

Eventually, BNP contested and won 1991 general elections, registering a victory in 140 of 300 seats. Khaleda Zia Bangladesh’s first woman Prime Minister with the support of allies. Continuing her winning streak, BNP won 2001 elections by clinching victory in 193 of 300 seats.

Khaleda Zia went on serve as Prime Minister of Bangladesh for 10 years from 1991 to 1996 and 2001 to 2006.

The fall of Zia, rise of Hasina

After the five-year term of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) came to an end in October 2006, the party was expected to transfer power to a non-party caretaker government. The caretaker government would have seen conduct of elections within 90 days.

After an exhaustive process, President Iajuddin Ahmed took up the role of Chief Adviser. The opposition Awami League accused him of favouring the BNP. This went bitter with Awami League Party, led by Sheikh Hasina – daughter of Mijibur Rahman – and its allies accusing the BNP of manipulating the voter rolls with millions of fake namesand rigging the 2007 elections. This escalated into a full-scale mayhem into the streets. Hundreds of political supporters engaged in a violent scuffle, leading to imposition of curfew in few areas.

Also Read | Bangladesh elections: BNP promises to end ‘border killings’ by BSF, seeks fair share of cross border rivers

Following a political deadlock, a state of emergency was declared and President Iajuddin banned the elections.

After nearly two years under emergency rule, the Awami League Party swept the December 2008 elections, and abolished the system of caretaker government.

Turbulent times for BNP

After Ms. Hasina’s take over as the Prime Minister, BNP’s top leadership faced arrests and the party’s activities were restricted. This hampered BNP’s prospects to contest elections. In spite of such, the biggest setback to the party was restriction to hold political rallies and publicise anything in media.

Also Read | Grassroots workers of Awami League blame top Ministers, former General Secretary for downfall of party

Zia was jailed for corruption and her son Mr. Tarique Rahman went into exile. The BNP, however, continued to be a major opposition party of the country. It managed to win 7 seats in the 2018 elections when Zia was still in jail.

The BNP boycotted the 2024 elections since the Awami League government refused to hand over governance to a caretaker government. Ms. Hasina formed the government again, which was ousted in a few months in a mass uprising also supported by the BNP.

Zia was out of jail after the uprising giving fresh lease of life to the party. Eventually Tarique Rahman too returned days before his mother passed away.

Who are BNP’s allies in Bangladesh?

For 2026 Bangladesh General Elections, BNP contested for 292 seats out of the 300, leaving the remaining seats for its coalition partners. Unlike Jammat-e-Islami, the BNP didn’t enter into a pact with its allies, but its front included a group of seven smaller political parties.

BNP’s views towards India

BNP Chairperson Tarique Rahman, in an interview with Times, said guarding the interests of Bangladeshi people comes first. “Later, we will try to take relations further”, he added.

Rahman’s stance on India assumes much significance since India-Bangladesh ties took a backseat recently due to a spate of violences against minority Hindus.

However, on a positive note, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma on Saturday (January 10, 2026) met BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman, a day after the party officially elected him to the position ahead of the scheduled February 12 elections.

“The meeting lasted for some 40 minutes,” Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) media cell spokesman Sayrul Kabir Khan told PTI, calling it a courtesy call.

Published – February 13, 2026 02:57 pm IST

A significant contest will take place in Dhaka-8 where BNP’s strongman Mirza Abbas is being challenged by National Citizen Party’s Nasiruddin Patowary.

Leading prime ministerial hopeful Tarique Rahman, 60, is confident his Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) can regain power, but he faces a stiff challenge from the Muslim-majority country’s largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami.

A total of 1,755 candidates from 50 political parties and 273 independents are contesting the election. The BNP has fielded the highest number of 291 candidates. There are 83 female candidates.

Dhaka-8 is the seat where young Islamist Sharif Osman Hadi was planning to contest before he was shot and killed in December. Mr. Patowary’s challenge is significant as he is being supported by the 11-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami. 

Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman, 67, has mounted a disciplined grassroots campaign, and, if victorious, the former political prisoner could lead the first Islamist-led government in constitutionally secular Bangladesh.

Bangladesh’s previous election was in January 2024 when the chief opposition BNP boycotted. Sheikh Hasina of Awami League formed government after the election but was overthrown in a public uprising in July-August 2024. 

Awami League of Sheikh Hasina is not contesting the polls as it remains banned but the party’s stronghold Gopalganj was rocked by violence overnight with at least ten cocktail explosives were hurled as multiple groups clashed. Both BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami have accused Awami League of rigging the previous three elections of Bangladesh in 2024, 2018 and in 2014. 

On the walls of Dhaka University, a slogan captures the political mood: “Delhi na Dhaka? Dhaka Dhaka.” The graffiti highlights the question — should it be Delhi [ruling] or Dhaka [ruling]?

The chant, which gained prominence during the July 2024 uprising that ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, targeted her government, accusing it of maintaining power with support from India.

With Ms. Hasina’s party, the Awami League, barred from contesting the February 12 election, the slogan and the sentiment behind it remain potent and have now been deployed as both shield and sword on the electoral battlefield.

As Bangladesh heads into a landmark election, anti-India sentiment is reshaping political discourse.

Out of race

With the historically dominant and India-friendly Awami League out of the race, the two main contenders, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Jamaat-e-Islami alliance, are locked in a fierce contest to weaponise “pro-India” sentiments, using it to discredit rivals before an electorate deeply disillusioned with what many see as decades of excessive Indian influence. Bijoy Talukder, an employee at a Dhaka-based consultancy firm who actively participated in the uprising and is voting for the first time, said the slogan helped unite protesters against the Awami League.

“We believe the party managed to stay in power with India’s all-out support. Now, in this election, major parties are accusing each other of being pro-Indian because they believe this label can still win or lose votes,” he said. “This slogan truly united us during the uprising. It was one of the most powerful chants against Sheikh Hasina.”

Political analysts say that being perceived as “pro-Indian” has become a political liability in Bangladesh.

While parties continue to pledge cordial relations with neighbouring countries, including India, they are simultaneously eager to portray rivals as aligned with New Delhi, calculating that such an image would hurt them among voters.

Dependent on Delhi

Ahsanul Mahbub Jubair, a central committee member of the National Citizen Party (NCP), formed by student leaders who spearheaded the uprising, told The Hindu Ms. Hasina’s administration was defined by exceptionally close ties with India across security, trade and transit.

“People believe she subordinated national interests to India. Her fall and subsequent flight to India reinforced this perception. India’s refusal to extradite her, despite the leader receiving a death penalty from a domestic war crimes tribunal in Bangladesh, has turned her into a living symbol of Indian interference,” he said.

“Most people believe India does not want what is best for Bangladesh,” he added.

“Sheikh Hasina stayed in power through three disputed elections with India’s support. Any party that takes decisions against Bangladesh’s interests will now be branded pro-Indian.”

The NCP leader, whose party has formed an electoral alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party, alleged that India is now attempting to cultivate ties with the BNP as an alternative to the Awami League. “With the Awami League gone, India wants to fill that vacuum,” he said. “That is why this discourse remains central to the election.”

Anti-Indian sentiment continues to shape campaign rhetoric across the country. Platforms that emerged after the uprising frequently invoke the slogan at rallies, often alongside leaders of major political parties.

The BNP and Jamaat are engaged in an intense contest of nationalist one-upmanship, each accusing the other of inheriting what they call the Awami League’s “Delhi-dependent politics”.

As polling day approaches, Jamaat-e-Islami, historically closer to Pakistan, which long opposed Ms. Hasina’s rule, has repositioned itself as a defender of Bangladeshi sovereignty. Its manifesto emphasises mutual respect and equal dignity in foreign relations, pointedly rejecting any special status for India. Its campaign subtly suggests that a BNP-led government would continue Ms. Hasina’s India-centric foreign policy.

On the other hand, the BNP, traditionally viewed as a centrist party, is treading carefully. Its manifesto promises an independent and balanced foreign policy, while party supporters frequently counter Jamaat’s allegations by highlighting its controversial role during the 1971 Liberation War, when it sided with Pakistan.

Take a page from India

M. Zakaria, an author and political analyst, said that even after the Awami League turned into an abandoned entity in Bangladeshi politics, the practice of blaming each other as pro-Indian remains.

This has turned into common rhetoric among the parties. The core reason behind this is the lack of careful nurturing of the people-to-people contact between the two neighbouring states, he said.

“Ironically, this has now turned into an obsession among Bangladeshi youth, becoming a tool for othering. One group in Bangladesh labels the other as ‘pro-Indian’ to engage in divisive politics,” Mr. Zakariah said. “In India too, we see anyone with opposing political views often being labelled as ‘Pakistani’ or ‘Bangladeshi’ and threatened with expulsion from the country. The phenomenon in Bangladesh is simply a reaction to that”.

Published – February 11, 2026 12:38 am IST

Shafiqur Rahman, Jamaat-e-Islami party leader speaks during a Jamaat-led alliance rally ahead of Bangladesh’s general election in Dhaka on February 8, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Late Sharif Osman Hadi. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

‘Pranto Das Gupta, a 22-year-old from Bangladesh’s minority Hindu community, is preparing to cast his first vote in the upcoming national elections. Living in Dhaka, around 300 km from his ancestral village in Satkania, Chattogram, Mr. Gupta plans to travel home to vote with his family on February 12, as the country heads into its first election since the dramatic fall of Sheikh Hasina in an uprising in August 2024.

For the first-time voter, the lofty promises in party manifestos from trillion-dollar economies to constitutional reform ring hollow against the lived reality of arson, vandalism and intimidation.

“We don’t want clashes. We don’t want promises. All we ask for is safety,” Mr. Gupta said. “People in my village will go to the polling centres and vote for whoever they think can ensure their safety.”

This plea for basic security has emerged as the overwhelming, non-partisan demand of religious minorities, who make up roughly 10% of the population, as campaign rallies intensify and polling day draws closer.

According to a recent report by the Human Rights Support Society (HRSS), at least 56 targeted attacks on minority communities were recorded in the 17 months leading up to the election. These incidents included the desecration of temples, vandalism of homes, and physical assaults, leaving one person dead and 27 injured. Transparency International Bangladesh reported more than 50 such attacks in 2025, while Ain-e-Salish Kendra documented 42 incidents.

The Chief Adviser’s Office, however, has offered a different assessment. It said that of the 645 incidents involving minority community members recorded in 2025, only 71 were communal in nature, while the remaining cases were linked to general criminal activity.

Despite the official reassurances, fear remains pervasive. “Only a few people from our community are involved in politics,” said Raghupati Sen, a trustee of a local ashram in Old Dhaka’s Tikatuli area. “Politicians come asking for votes, but who comes to protect our homes and temples when attacks happen?”

“For us,” he added, “the election is not about who wins. It is about whether we will lose whatever security we still have.”

This election cycle has been especially tense. While clashes between the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami dominate headlines, minorities describe a quieter but persistent anxiety. Major political blocs have made rhetorical overtures; the BNP’s manifesto promises minority protection, while the Jamaat-e-Islami alliance speaks of building a “humane Bangladesh.” Yet critics said that these parties, now locked in fierce rivalry, have also histories where communal rhetoric has been weaponised, and their ground-level activists were often implicated in localised intimidation.

Following the August 2024 uprising, organised mobs targeted Hindu neighbourhoods in several parts of the country. The community has long been perceived as supportive of the Awami League, which projected itself as secular but faced criticism for failing to prevent attacks on minorities during its tenure. The Awami League has been barred from contesting this election, yet minority voters say their participation remains important. This correspondent spoke to more than a dozen voters from minority communities, all of whom said they intended to vote.

“Minorities have always been victims of violence in Bangladesh,” said Abhi Chowdhury Partho, a college teacher in Dhaka. “Even during Sheikh Hasina’s rule, we saw attacks during festivals. Fear did not disappear then, and it has not disappeared now.”

He said this persistent insecurity is shaping voting behaviour. In many minority-dominated areas, there is discussion of “strategic voting” choosing candidates perceived as less likely to provoke violence rather than those offering ambitious promises.

The authorities plan to deploy a vast security apparatus, with nearly 9 lac personnel, including more than 1 lac members of the armed forces, guarding polling centres between February 8 and 14. But Mr. Partho questioned whether protection would extend beyond polling day. “Who will stand guard on February 14, or the week after, if someone wants to retaliate for how we voted?” he asked.

A recent report by the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) said communal violence remains ongoing. Based on data collected up to January 27, 2026, the council recorded 42 incidents, including murder, sexual violence, attacks on temples and churches, looting of homes and businesses, and land grabbing.

Monindra Kumar Nath, Acting General Secretary of BHBCUC, said fear continues to dominate minority communities’ psyche as the 13th parliamentary election approaches. “Across the country, religious and ethnic minorities, especially women and young people, are living in constant anxiety,” he said.

Last week, the council placed eight demands before the authorities, urging the Election Commission (EC) to ensure a level playing field and a secure environment so minority voters and candidates can participate without obstruction.

However, Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud on February 6 called on members of minority communities to go to polling centres without fear. He said the EC had made full security arrangements for them, and all preparations are in place to hold a free and fair election.

In total, 79 candidates from religious and ethnic minority communities are contesting the election, 67 party nominees and 12 independents. The Communist Party of Bangladesh has fielded the highest number (17), followed by the BNP with six, while Jamaat-e-Islami has nominated a minority candidate for the first time. Ten of the candidates are women.

The number of minority candidates remains unchanged from 2018 and is slightly lower than the 81 recorded in 2024. Hindus make up nearly 8% of Bangladesh’s population, with Christians, Buddhists, and other minorities accounting for smaller shares.

Published – February 07, 2026 09:53 pm IST

Bangladeshi women stand in a queue to cast their votes at a polling station in Dhaka, Bangladesh. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, Tarique Rahman and his daughter Zamia, completed all necessary procedures for voter registration and the issuance of a National Identity Card (NID) at the ECI on December 27, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI