¶¶Òõ¾«Æ·

THERE was a political vacuum after the collapse of Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year dictatorial regime in August 2024. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party had a golden opportunity to step in, claim leadership and shape the future of the country. Unfortunately, it squandered that moment. Instead of leveraging the momentum, the party chose to distance itself, spending its energy on critiquing and refusing to cooperate with the interim government while also questioning the legitimacy of the July uprising and publicly dehumanising its heroes.

Moreover, the BNP and its affiliated wings such as Juba Dal and Chhatra Dal have been plagued by accusations against leaders at every level, from the top to grassroots. The allegations include the forceful occupation of tenders and public property, robbery and threats against rival political parties including Jamaat-Shibir and the National Citizen Party. Reports of intimidation of women on the Dhaka University campus, including threats of sexual violence, as well as systematic cyber-bullying of ideological opponents, have further tarnished the party’s image. As a result, in the absence of the Awami League, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the country’s largest political party, finds itself in a deeply precarious and discredited position.

The landslide victory of the Islami Chhatra Shibir–backed panel in the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union elections, alongside the miserable defeat of the BNP’s student wing Chhatra Dal offers a revealing glimpse into how young adults, particularly university students, perceive the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its affiliates. While the Chhatra Dal’s setback in the DUCSU elections does not automatically signal that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party will face the same fate in the forthcoming national elections, it is undeniable that the outcome of the student polls will shape the trajectory of the BNP politics in the years ahead.

The mass public, especially young people, envisioned sweeping political reforms after the collapse of Sheikh Hasina’s regime. Many hoped the Bangladesh Nationalist Party would step forward as the steward of this transformation, guiding the nation into a new political landscape. But the bitter truth is that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party has never embraced this role. It failed to grasp the urgency of the masses and deliberately ignored the responsibility of rebuilding the country in cooperation with other political forces. Instead, the party resorted to the same tactics of power politics once wielded by the previous regime.

Sheikh Hasina’s decade-and-a-half rule thrived on a divisive ‘we versus others’ rhetoric, in which only Awami League loyalists were treated as part of the nation while the rest were cast as outsiders, enemies or threats to power. People expected the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to break this cycle, uphold the spirit of the July uprising and unite the nation around the cause of ordinary citizens. Yet the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s controversial actions since August 5, 2024, have done the opposite, terrifying people and reinforcing the conviction that the party is no different from the Awami League as it too has begun employing the same rhetoric to dehumanise its opponents.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party has lost much of its credibility and public trust as a potential agent of change largely because it has failed to practise democracy within its own ranks. For a party that aspires to lead democratic reforms, it is critical to set an example by upholding democracy internally. Yet, the record tells a different story. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, a 47-year-old political party, has managed to hold only six national conventions between 1978 and 2025. According to its own constitution, such conventions should take place every three years, but consistency has never been maintained. The most recent convention was held on March 19, 2016, more than nine years ago.

This prolonged gap reveals two damaging trends: the absence of new, young leaders entering the fold and the continued retention of senior leaders who have under-performed. Many of these senior figures appear unable to carry forward Ziaur Rahman’s founding vision of building an inclusive nation by empowering both men and women. Instead of a unified voice articulating Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s policies or positions on critical national issues, they present chorus of disjointed and impromptu statements. If the Bangladesh Nationalist Party truly wishes to lead national reformation, it must first reform itself. Without internal democratisation and generational renewal, the party will continue to struggle for legitimacy in the eyes of the people it seeks to represent.

Ìý

Case of DUCSU elections

IN THE DUCSU elections held on September 9, the Islami Chhatra Shibir-led panel secured a landslide victory, winning 23 out of 28 positions, including all three top posts — vice-president, general secretary and assistant general secretary. The margins were overwhelming. Shibir’s VP candidate Md Abu Shadik (Shadik Kayem) received 14,002 votes while his nearest rival Chhatra Dal-backed Abidul Islam managed just over 5,700. Similarly, Shibir’s GS-elect SM Forhad and AGS-elect Mohiuddin Khan each garnered nearly double the votes of their Chhatra Dal counterparts. For Chhatra Dal, which has for long claimed to be the largest student organisation in Bangladesh, this result is nothing short of humiliating, a crushing defeat that underscores its waning influence on campus politics.

After their landslide victory, the Shibir-backed panel emphasised its commitment to making Dhaka University a safer campus and pledged to uphold the rights of students. At a post-election press conference, the VP-elect Shadik Kayem stated, ‘It is not victory or defeat for us – this is victory for who sacrificed their lives in July 2024 uprising. Those who were defeated are not our enemies. We recognise them as co-fighters for students’ rights, and we want to work together, with their role as advisers.’ Echoing this inclusive tone, the GS-elect SM Forhad remarked, ‘This is not a victory for Shibir; it is a victory for all students of Dhaka University. We want to work together, and if we make mistakes, they will correct us.’ These statements reflect a noteworthy gesture of humility and inclusiveness from the newly elected leaders — one that signals a desire to bridge divides and present themselves as representatives of the entire student body, not just their own organisation. Ìý

Nonetheless, one question remains unanswered: why did the Chhatra Dal suffer such a humiliating defeat? I served as a Dhaka University correspondent from mid-2006 to mid-2010 and during that time, many of those who led the Chhatra Dal at the central and DU levels are now either members of Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s central committee or top leaders of its affiliated organisations such as Juba Dal and Swechchhasebak Dal. I have remained connected with most of them on social media and have been observing their activities closely since August 5, 2024.

The bitter truth is that a very few former or current Chhatra Dal leaders appear genuinely committed to advancing Bangladesh by upholding the aspirations of the younger generation. Instead, much of their social media activism revolves around dehumanising political opponents, particularly Jamaat-Shibir and the National Citzen Party. The Chhatra Dal continues to recycle the same slogans used against these parties during the Awami League regime and the public has grown increasingly disappointed about this old, clichéd rhetoric of dehumanisation and ‘we versus other’ politics.

BNP and Chhatra Dal leaders have gone so far as to publicly discredit NCP leaders, many of whom played central roles in the July uprising. In public discourse and everyday conversations, they labelled NCP leaders as ‘children’ and Jamaat-Shibir activists as ‘Pakistani’ or ‘Razakar.’ Instead of using their platform to introduce citizens to new political aspirations or amplify the voice of historically marginalised groups, they doubled down on divisive rhetoric, reinforcing old political fault lines. More alarmingly, reports of a Chhatra Dal leader threatening to gang-rape a female candidate from the Shibir-led panel sparked nationwide outrage. This incident further alienated women voters, who rightly felt unsafe under the Chhatra Dal’s influence.

The Chhatra Dal’s humiliating defeat in the DUCSU elections should not be taken lightly. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its policymakers must seriously review and revise their strategies, creating policies that are people-oriented and genuinely committed to building an inclusive nation rather than recycling the discredited rhetoric of Sheikh Hasina’s fallen regime.

Ìý

Didarul Islam Manik ([email protected]) teaches communication at Central New Mexico Community College, Albuquerque, United States. He is the founder and executive director of the Centrr for South Asian Media and Culture.