Parties are preparing for the elections to be held in Bangladesh on February 12.

Out of the 59 parties registered with the Election Commission, 51 have fielded their candidates for this election. The Election Commission has stated that a total of 2,569 candidates, including 2,091 candidates and 478 independents, have been registered by the last date of nomination on December 29.

In the direct election to be held for 300 seats, the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) has fielded candidates from all parts of the country. Due to the inability to manage the aspirants, more than one candidate has been fielded in some places. A total of 331 candidates have been fielded from the BNP. Similarly, the Jamaat-e-Islami has fielded candidates for 276 seats. The National Citizen Party (NCP) has fielded 44 candidates. Along with these two parties, 11 parties are forming an alliance. However, the seat distribution has not been finalized by the time the nominations are filed.

The NCP is led by students who were at the forefront of the July 2024 movement to oust the Sheikh Hasina government. In the election, the Islamic Movement of Bangladesh has fielded 268 candidates, the Jatiya Party has fielded 224, the Bangladesh Khalifa Majlis 94, the Gono Odikar Parishad 104, the Bangladesh Communist Party 65, the Amar Bangladesh Party 53 and the Bangladesh Samajwadi Party 41. The deadline for withdrawal of nominations has been set for January 20. The final list of candidates and election symbols will be made public on January 21.

The Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League, which won a majority in the 2024 elections, is barred from contesting this election. Some leaders and activists of this party have filed independent candidacies. The banning of the Awami League will benefit other competing parties.

'After independence, Jamaat-e-Islami was banned for about 15 years,' said Bangladeshi journalist Muktadir Rashid, 'Now the leaders of the Jamaat have washed their hands of banning the Awami. This is an attempt at revenge. Despite this, there is no stopping Awami League leaders and workers from running as independent candidates.'

Major party

Bangladesh National Party: Ziaur Rahman founded this party in 1978. His wife Khaleda Zia was the president of this party for the past four decades. President Zia passed away just a few days ago. She was the first female prime minister of Bangladesh.

Tariq Rahman, who returned home from 17 years of exile just a few days before his mother's death, is the executive president of the party. Rahman is being talked about as a future prime minister in Bangladesh. The crowd that gathered at the BNP's rally to welcome Rahman immediately after his return home chanted slogans in his favor.

This right-wing-centrist party has made Bangladeshi nationalism, economic liberalization, and reducing corruption its main agenda. The party's sister organizations have spread to women, students, workers, farmers, and youth.

The BNP is one of the two traditional major parties in Bangladesh. The other major party, the Awami League, has been barred from participating in this election. The Awami League is a party led by Sheikh Hasina. Many expect the BNP to take advantage of the fact that the traditional rival and the largest mass organization is out of the election.

Both the BNP and the Awami League were at the forefront of the struggle in the 1980s and 1990s to overthrow the military regime and bring democracy. The BNP won the first place in the elections held after the restoration of democracy in 1991. However, the Awami League won a majority in 1996.

The BNP came to power again in 2001 as the first party. The BNP gradually weakened after the military rule in 2006 and the Awami League came to power two years later. Sheikh Hasina had arrested BNP leaders and activists and filed false cases. In return, the BNP boycotted the 2014 and 2024 elections. The interim government led by Mohammad Yusuf, formed after the student movement ousted Sheikh Hasina last year, released BNP chairwoman Khaleda Zia. Similarly, the false case filed against Tariq Rahman was also withdrawn.

Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance:  Sayed Abul Allah Maududi started this campaign in 1941 during the British rule in India. 

In 1971, Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan rejected the partition of East Pakistan and supported the central government in Islamabad. That is why, after the independence of Bangladesh, the government banned this party.

Many such religious groups were banned at that time. After the ban was lifted in 1976, religious party leaders also got the opportunity to hold meetings and conferences and conduct political activities.

Then, in 1979, the Bangladesh branch of Jamaat-e-Islami was formed. This party actively participated in the 1990 movement against the military regime. In 2001, this party participated in the BNP-led coalition government with two ministries.

This right-wing party is inspired by the propagation of Islamic ideology, preservation of Bangladeshi culture and reformism. In 2013, the Sheikh Hasina government banned the party from participating in the elections for religious fundamentalism.

Many leaders and workers of the party were jailed after being charged with 1971 (suppression of the freedom movement). This time, the party has formed a grand alliance. The NCP, an alternative force formed by the youth who played a key role in overthrowing the Sheikh Hasina government, has joined this alliance.

However, not all the youth are happy with the NCP leadership's decision to join the alliance. About 30 influential student leaders have written a letter to NCP's main leader Nahid Islam expressing their dissatisfaction.

They have said that the demand of the student movement is not the promotion of any particular religion but the end of nepotism and opposition to corruption.

The issue of seat sharing among the coalition partners has not been finalized till the registration of the preliminary list. The party's Amir Shafiqur Rahman has said that this issue will be finalized soon.

He has also said that the party will discuss the issue of forming a joint government after the elections. He has said that the fight against corruption will be made the main issue.

Major issue

The issue of good governance raised by the students in the July 2024 movement is being raised by the major parties in the elections this time too. The major parties have put forward issues such as a new constitution, judicial reform, free press, access to health and education.

This election is also expected to be important in ending instability and achieving economic reform. Bangladesh's economic growth rate was very good until 2020 under Sheikh Hasina's tenure.

However, the huge impact of the Covid pandemic has been felt in the industries here. Because of its limited natural resources, the country imports almost all its energy sources.