Name: Bangladesh’s Gen-Z fights for political ground after ousting Hasina
Uploaded: 2025-12-04T20:02:14.858Z
Duration: 3 min 19 s
Description: Thousands in Bangladesh flocked to hear the plans of the students who toppled long-time leader Sheikh Hasina when they launched a new political partythis year, but now it finds itself struggling to translate the street power into votes.

Thousands in Bangladesh flocked to hear the plans of the students who toppled long-time leader Sheikh Hasina when they launched a new political partythis year, but now it finds itself struggling to translate the street power into votes.

Dhaka

Bangladesh is preparing for a national parliamentary election following a student-led uprising that resulted in the ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India. The upheaval led to the creation of the National Citizens' Party (NCP), which aims to challenge the long-standing dominance of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the now-banned Awami League.

Despite initial momentum, the NCP is struggling to gain voter support, ranking third in opinion polls and failing to win seats in key student elections. Party leaders acknowledge organizational and funding challenges, and are considering alliances with established parties, though experts warn this could compromise their reformist ideals. Some young supporters remain hopeful that the NCP can bring change to Bangladesh’s political system.

Bangladesh’s Gen-Z fights for political ground after ousting Hasina

Bangladesh is gearing up for a national parliamentary election. That follows the massive student-led uprising in July last year, which ousted longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India. The upheaval led to the formation of a new political party in February, known as the National Citizens' Party. It promised to end decades of family-rule politics and break the grip of the two big parties. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the now-banned Awami League, once led by Hasina. But as elections get closer, the new party is finding it hard to turn street protests into real votes. Nahid Islam is the chief of the NCP. We are a new political party and did not have sufficient time to organize or reach out to the wider public. This election will therefore be a significant challenge for us. We also lack prior experience in contesting national polls. Even so, we are determined to take on the challenge. We want to connect with voters through this election and demonstrate our capabilities publicly. Bangladesh needs these polls to restore stability, which is why we are hoping for a proper and neutral election going forward. Opinion polls by the International Republican Institute put the NCP in third place, with support of just 6 percent. That's far behind the BNP, which leads with 30 percent. Even the hardline Jamaat-e-Islami Party is projected to do better, with polls putting it second on 26 percent. In September, the NCP also failed to win a single seat in student body elections at Dhaka University, the very place where the uprising began. One student from the university said Bangladesh had drifted away from the spirit of July 2024. She said leaders of the uprising no longer listened to ordinary students and seemed out of reach. With a thin organization and little funding, the NCP said it was holding talks with rival parties. Dhaka University professor Asif Shahan calls that a strategic gamble. They can go with either of the two big parties, be it BNP or Jamaat, and may secure some seats and may get a place in the parliament, but that means they have to compromise on their basic principles, the spirit of July uprising, either sacrificing reform or either sacrificing the principles of inclusivity and finding a place for citizens and their rights. If they try to do that, they may win in the short run to get a place in the parliament, but eventually they may disappear from the political space altogether. Despite everything, some young people still favor the party. Tasnim Jara, a senior leader of the NCP, said the party wasn't about to give up. The more important challenge we are facing is staying true to our values because the system around us is still very much influenced by money, muscle and patronage. We must not allow the system to change us. We must change the system and that's what we are here to do.

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