United News of Bangladesh

Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-e-Ameer and Cumilla-11 (Chauddagram) candidate Dr Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher on Wednesday said the 13th parliamentary election would determine the future course of Bangladesh. “This election will decide whether Bangladesh moves forward with independence and self-respect or returns to the dark phase of the past 54 years,” he said while addressing a views-exchange meeting at a party office in Chauddagram in the ditrict in the afternoon. He said the polls would also determine whether the country would revert to what he described as fascist politics or move towards building a democratic, civil and just society by safeguarding the rights of all citizens. Read More: Khaleda Zia was Bangladesh’s most popular leader: Jamaat’s Taher Dr Taher said that the election would pave the way for a new phase of national development and create an opportunity for the actual reflection of people’s opinions. The meeting was chaired by Chauddagram Upazila Jamaat Ameer Mahfuzur Rahman. Jamaat-e-Islami Central Majlish Shura member and Cumilla South District Ameer Advocate Mohammad Shahjahan, former district Ameer Mohammad Abdus Sattar, former upazila Ameer VP Sahab Uddin, and Municipal Ameer Maulana Ibrahim also spoke at the event.

A four-member delegation of the National Citizen Party (NCP) is scheduled to meet Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Monday afternoon. In a media release, the NCP said the meeting will take place at 5:00pm at the State Guest House Jamuna. The delegation, led by NCP Convener Nahid Islam, will include Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan, chairman of the party’s Election Steering Committee, Secretary Monira Sharmin, and Advocate Zahirul Islam Musa, head of the committee’s legal support subcommittee. According to the party, discussions during the meeting will focus on what it described as the Election Commission’s partisan conduct and the overall current election situation. Earlier on Sunday night, Asif Mahmud told an emergency press conference that the NCP would reconsider whether to participate in the upcoming parliamentary election due to the Election Commission’s alleged biased behaviour. NCP reconsiders election participation over ‘one-sided’ EC decisions: Asif Mahmud On the same day, the Election Commission issued show-cause notices to Nahid Islam and Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwari over alleged violations of the electoral code of conduct. The NCP, however, claimed that Nahid and Nasir were campaigning for the referendum and that such activities do not constitute a breach of election rules.

A man was killed in a clash allegedly between two groups of BNP supporters following the inauguration of an election office of an independent candidate in Dhobaura upazila of Mymensingh on Friday evening. The deceased was identified as Nazrul Islam, 40, son of Mofiz Uddin of Ramsinghpur village of the upazila and an activist of independent candidate Salman Omar Rubel.   Additional Superintendent of Police (Finance and Administration) Abdullah Al Mamun said Salman Omar Rubel went to Ershad Bazar on Friday evening to inaugurate his election office. After the programme ended and he was leaving the area, supporters of BNP-nominated candidate and BNP Joint Secretary General Syed Emran Saleh Prince allegedly attacked Rubel’s supporters, triggering a clash. During the clash, Nazrul Islam was stabbed by rivals. Locals rushed him to Dhobaura Upazila  Health Complex where doctors declared him dead. Following the incident, tension has been prevailing in the area. Independent candidate Salman Omar Rubel alleged that Prince’s supporters carried out a sudden attack from behind after the office inauguration. He demanded the immediate arrest of those involved in the killing of his supporter. BNP-nominated candidate for Mymensingh-1 (Haluaghat-Dhobaura) constituency Syed Emran Saleh Prince said he was not fully aware of the incident as he was in Haluaghat at the time. BNP leader Alamgir murder case: fourth suspect arrested in Jashore “From what I have initially heard, the incident stemmed from a family dispute. Attempts are being made to give it a political colour,” he said.  If it is found that anyone linked to our party is involved,  action will be taken, he added. Dhobaura police station  Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Shafikul Islam said  police visited the scene and legal action is underway.

The European Union on Tuesday night assured BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman that it will stand beside Bangladesh with stronger and increased cooperation in the coming days. “They (the EU) said they would extend cooperation on a larger scale and with greater commitment in the days ahead,” BNP Standing Committee member Nazrul Islam Khan told reporters after a meeting between Tarique Rahman and an EU delegation. The delegation, led by European Union Ambassador Michael Miller, visited the BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office in the evening and held talks with Tarique Rahman on various issues. The meeting, which lasted for more than one and a half hours, mainly focused on the upcoming 13th national parliamentary election, BNP’s views on holding a free and fair election, the overall political situation in the country, and the condition of workers in Bangladesh. Besides Tarique Rahman and Nazrul Islam Khan, BNP Chairperson’s Advisory Council member Ismail Zabihull, Joint Secretary General Humayun Kabir, and Acting Chairman’s Adviser Mahdi Amin were present at the meeting. During the meeting, Nazrul Islam said,Tarique Rahman thanked the European Union for its continued support to Bangladesh’s development and urged it to play a more effective role in the future so that the people of Bangladesh benefit more.  

BNP has reached an electoral understanding with seven more alliance partners of the anti-fascist movement, leaving eight parliamentary seats for them for the upcoming national election. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced the list at a press conference at the party Chairperson’s Gulshan office on Wednesday afternoon (December 24, 2025). Under the arrangement, Nagorik Oikya President Mahmudur Rahman Manna will contest from Bogura-2, Jatiya Party (Kazi Zafar) leader Mostafa Jamal Haider from Pirojpur-1, and National People’s Party (NPP) Chairman Fariduzzaman Farhad from Narail-2. Islami Oikya Jote leader Mufti Rashid Bin Wakkas will contest from Jashore-5, while Gono Odhikar Parishad President Nurul Haque Nur will contest from Patuakhali-3 and the party’s General Secretary Rashed Khan from Jhenaidah-4. Bangladesh Revolutionary Workers Party General Secretary Saiful Haque will contest from Dhaka-12, and Ganosanghati Andolon Chief Coordinator Zonayed Saki from Brahmanbaria-6. LDP Secretary General Dr Redwan joins BNP Fakhrul said BNP reached the understanding after long discussions with the parties that simultaneously took part in the anti-fascist movement. “After detailed discussions with our partners in the simultaneous movement, we have reached agreements on these seats. I am sharing the list with you today.” He said discussions with other partners are still ongoing and more decisions may be announced later. Read more: LDP Secretary General Dr Redwan joins BNP The BNP Secretary General also said Cumilla-7 seat has been allocated to Dr Redowan Ahmed, who joined BNP on Wednesday, while Dhaka-13 has been allocated to NDM Chairman Bobby Hajjaj, who is expected to join the party soon. Fakhrul said alliance partners will contest the election with their respective party symbols, while those who have joined BNP will contest with the party’s ‘Sheaf of Paddy’ symbol. Warning party leaders and activists, Fakhrul said BNP will not field any candidate in the seats left for alliance partners as per the central decision. “If anyone contests as an independent candidate in those seats, organisational action will be taken against them,” he said. BNP Standing Committee Members Nazrul Islam Khan, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku were present at the press conference. Earlier on Tuesday, the party announced to leave four seats for Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh, ahead of the upcoming 13th national parliamentary election. The Jamiat candidates are Md Manjurul Islam Afendi in Nilphamari-1, Monir Hossain Kasemi in Narayanganj-4, Md Ubaidullah Faruq in Sylhet-5 and Junayed Al Habib in Brahmanbaria-2. BNP has already announced party candidates for 272 of the 300 parliamentary seats in two phases. Read more: Homebound Finally: Tarique set to arrive in Dhaka on Thursday morning Of the remaining 28 seats, four were allocated to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh on Tuesday, while eight more seats were allocated to other alliance partners on Wednesday. Sixteen seats are yet to be finalised.

BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman has called a meeting of the party’s Standing Committee at noon on Monday (3rd November 2025) at the BNP Chairperson’s office in Gulshan. The meeting will begin at 12:30pm, followed by a press conference at 3pm at the same venue, said BNP media cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan. BNP’s divisional organising secretaries have also been asked to attend the meeting at the Chairperson’s office. Party sources said Tarique Rahman, who will join the meeting virtually from London, will chair the session, while other Standing Committee members will be present in person. Election uncertainty may endanger democratic transition: Tarique Several senior BNP leaders said the meeting will mainly focus on finalising single candidates for each constituency under the party and its alliance for the upcoming national election. The meeting comes a day after Tarique Rahman announced that BNP would soon release the first phase of its nomination list while launching the party’s new online payment gateway for membership renewal and registration at a programme held at a Gulshan hotel on Sunday. Tarique said it is not possible to nominate everyone, and BNP has also decided to support some candidates from other democratic parties that took part in the anti-fascist movement alongside BNP. “Because of this, some BNP aspirants may not get party nominations.” He urged all BNP leaders, workers, and supporters to accept this reality in the greater interest of the country, the people, and democracy. “Whoever receives the nomination, please work unitedly to ensure their victory. Remember, a hidden dictatorship with secret ambitions is lurking around you. So do not let petty resentments, quarrels or disputes among yourselves reach a level where the opponent can take advantage of your differences,” Tarique warned. Fakhrul urges BNP leaders to strengthen digital presence Party insiders said Tarique had held discussions with potential candidates from different divisions over the past two weeks at the Chairperson’s office. He instructed all aspirants to support whoever is officially nominated with the ‘sheaf of paddy’ symbol. Sources said the first list may include around 200 constituencies. Earlier, BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed told reporters that the party expected to publish its initial list of about 200 candidates in early November. “All nominated and non-nominated aspirants must work together for the officially endorsed candidate,” Salahuddin said. Bangladesh voter count hits 12.76 crore

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday voiced concern that the ‘enemies of Bangladesh’ are reemerging and attempting to create chaos and instability in the country. “We are seeing that the enemies of Bangladesh are rising again. As time goes by, there are growing attempts to create a completely anarchic situation in the country,” he said. Speaking at a press conference at the party’s Nayapaltan central office, Fakhrul said they are also, unfortunately, noticing a spread of propaganda and false information on social media aimed at fuelling unrest and disorder in the country. He said the current political situation is full of uncertainty and frustration. “People are constantly wondering what will happen next.” Earlier, Fakhrul attended a joint meeting of the party and its associate bodies to finalise a 10-day programme to observe with due respect the ‘National Revolution and Solidarity Day’, marking the ‘civil-military uprising’ on November 7, 1975. BNP announces 10-day programme to mark November 7 The BNP leader said November 7 is a very important day in the political and national history of Bangladesh, as it brought a historic change in the country’s politics. He said the unprecedented unity of the people and soldiers on that day paved the way for Ziaur Rahman to enter politics and rebuild the country through major economic reforms. “That’s why November 7 is very important to us. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the people and soldiers’ revolution,” Fakhrul said. He recalled how late President Ziaur Rahman united the nation and how party Chairperson Khaleda Zia led long struggles against autocracy and for democratic change. “In the same way, our Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman is working tirelessly from London to unite the nation and lead the party. He is giving new hope to the people of Bangladesh,” the BNP leader said. Reflecting on the events of November 7, 1975, and Ziaur Rahman’s rise to state leadership, Fakhrul said the country witnessed new enthusiasm and development under Zia’s rule. BNP forms 7 teams for media, social media, grassroots outreach “During his rule, the country was engaged in a wave of development, and a spirit of enthusiasm spread among the people. Sadly, the enemies of Bangladesh brutally killed President Ziaur Rahman at the Chattogram Circuit House, marking another dark chapter in our history,” he said. He said the philosophy of Ziaur Rahman, based on Bangladeshi nationalism, “can never be defeated”. “That’s why the BNP has never been defeated as it has risen again and again from the ruins, just like the mythical phoenix.” Fakhrul also highlighted Zia’s contributions to introducing multi-party democracy and reforms in the administration, judiciary, economy, education, industry, agriculture, media and women’s empowerment.  “November 7 remains an important day in our political life. We want to remember this day with respect and move forward with the spirit of the revolution and solidarity it represents,” the BNP leader said. BNP Joint Secretaries General Khairul Kabir Khokon, Habib-un-Nabi Khan Sohel, Abdus Salam Azad, Chairperson’s Special Assistant Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas and leaders of the city units and associate bodies of the party were present.    

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Saturday said their party would abolish the indemnity provision in the power sector if it returns to power. Speaking at the ‘CAB Youth Parliament 2025’ organised by the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) at Dhaka University, Rizvi said the indemnity law had legalised massive corruption in the power sector. “During the fascist regime, hundreds of thousands of crores of taka were looted from the energy sector. Using the indemnity law as a tool, money was siphoned off abroad,” Rizvi alleged. He said through rental and quick rental power projects, the previous government unleashed a wave of plunder in the energy sector, and the indemnity provision had paved the way for further large-scale corruption. “BNP stands firmly against such looting. Once in power, BNP will definitely repeal the indemnity,” he affirmed. Read more: Salahuddin slams ‘mismatch’ between July Charter and Commission report Rizvi said investment in the energy sector had declined and stressed that Bangladesh must start focusing on renewable energy now. “The previous government never thought about energy for people. Although the current interim government’s intentions regarding renewable energy seem right, their actions are not yet visible,” he observed. The BNP leader said that the party’s 31-point reform agenda places special emphasis on renewable energy, adding that acting chairman Tarique Rahman has repeatedly highlighted the issue in his speeches. “BNP has also pledged to plant 250 million trees across the country,” Rizvi said, adding that the party has always been serious about environmental issues. Apart from tree planting, our acting chairman has repeatedly talked about restoring the navigability of 20,000 km of canals, wetlands, and dead rivers,” he added. On the country’s renewable energy potential, Rizvi said Bangladesh needs to explore more alternative sources beyond solar and wind power. “Currently, only 4.71 percent of the national grid’s electricity comes from renewable sources. If Bangladesh can produce biofuel like Brazil—from sugarcane husks and other byproducts—it can make significant progress in this sector,” he said. Rizvi identified investment as the major challenge in renewable energy, saying that foreign investments are often delayed or blocked due to bureaucratic hurdles. “Overcoming these challenges is crucial to take the renewable energy sector forward,” he added. Read more: Fakhrul slams Jamaat for ‘spreading lies’ to mislead people ahead of election

The Rajshahi University Central Students’ Union (RUCSU) election of 2025 isn't just about who wins; it's about a fundamental shift in campus politics. The shift is characterized by a focus on issues, service, and collaboration over traditional ideology and confrontation. This new style, particularly demonstrated by the fresh faces, involves running a continuous "proof-based campaign" highlighting "procedural steps & microresults". The Race for Control: Jote's Scale vs. Oikkoboddo's New Posture According to UNB PLUS data, the contest is primarily between two major panels. The Sommilito Shikkharthi Jote (Shibir) enters as the organized and experienced team , currently commanding the conversation with a strong 58.60% engagement and an "exceptionally clean tone" of 93.75% positivity. The Jote panel, described as disciplined and data-driven, currently leads the overall race. In contrast, the JCD-backed Oikkoboddo Notun Projanmo panel is the face of change, introducing "fresh faces" who are academically strong and politically unscarred. Their candidates including Nur Uddin (VP), Nafiul Islam Jibon (GS), and Zahin Biswas Esha (AGS) are first-time contestants focused on process, policy, and inclusion. Oikkoboddo retains a substantial presence with 36.52% engagement but carries a heavier negative load (15.52%) than Jote, which the analysis suggests they must reduce to win over undecided voters. Read more: RUCSU elections underway after 35 years  Crucially, this JCD-backed group has introduced a new political vocabulary, running a continuous "proof-based campaign" focused on "procedural steps and microresults" like seat-list transparency and Wi-Fi uptime, demonstrating a significant departure from confrontational, older models of student politics. Key Contests: VP Leans Jote, AGS is a "Photofinish" According to UNB PLUS data, while Jote is predicted to take the overall panel with a moderate-to-high confidence, the individual lane races are intense: - Vice President (VP): Mostakur Rahman (Jote) currently leads with 62.29% engagement, holding a sustained margin over Sheikh Nur Uddin (Oikkoboddo) at 36.41%. - General Secretary (GS): Fahim Reza (Jote) leads in reach with 67.28% engagement. However, his opponent, Nafiul Islam Jibon (Oikkoboddo), maintains the highest positive tone of any major candidate at 98.06%. - Assistant General Secretary (AGS): This is the most competitive race, deemed a "photofinish." S M Salman Sabbir (Jote) edges the lead in engagement at 47.89%, while his rival, Zahin Biswas Esha (Oikkoboddo), is right behind at 47.73%. While Esha retains scale, Salman's campaign carries a "far cleaner tone" (95.38% positive vs. Esha's 70.98%), a factor that may prove decisive. Read more: No extra ballots printed for RUCSU election: EC Voter Demand: Fairness and Service Over Ideology The ultimate decider for the election is not ideological loyalty, but a demand for "unity-driven fairness with service visibility". While the election process itself remains the dominant topic (62% of engagement), the "marginal votegetters" are themes of Unity (17.43%) and Services & Facilities (7.58%). Students are seeking leaders who can make the system work by becoming a "bargaining authority" that compels the administration to deliver, ensuring accountability and transparency. The Bigger Picture RUCSU Election 2025 is a test of whether today's students will choose the "comfort of old-school, transactional politics" or back a "longer game" where institutions are made more answerable. No matter the final seat count, the election has already marked a significant turning point, institutionalizing a data-driven, digital-first, and policy-minded student leadership that has successfully changed the tone of politics. Read more: Security heightened ahead of RUCSU polls

Bangladesh now stands at a threshold where the familiar theatre of politics is being rewritten before our very eyes. Once, the story was told through posters plastered on cracked walls, festoons strung across narrow lanes, and the blare of megaphones cutting through the night. Now, the script has changed. The new battlefield is the screen; the new weapons are memes. Laughter slices deeper than slogans. Irony pierces harder than pamphlets. Once, citizens gathered in town squares, markets, or outside city halls to speak up, protest, and debate. They held signs, chanted slogans, and faced one another. Today, that stage has mostly shifted - into our phones. Social media is now the battlefield, the meeting place, the soapbox all in one. In this new “public square,” comment threads, TikTok videos, meme pages, and viral posts have replaced physical rallies. Political stories, grievances, and loyalties are born, spread, and challenged in real time - often by ordinary people, not just by the powerful. This change brings both hope and danger. On the bright side, a single meme or clever post can circle the country overnight. Voices once ignored - students, artists, the quiet observers - can now speak and be heard. It is now obvious that the great battle for power is no longer fought only in the streets — it is being waged in the feeds of the masses. The ‘Youthquake’ that lit the fire: July 2024 The turning point came with the student uprisings of July 2024. Streets thundered with chants, but the internet raged with a parallel storm. Memes seared authority with biting wit, hashtags outpaced the speed of slogans, and protest art became the new graffiti—spray-painted not only on the walls, but also across screens. What once was dismissed as jest turned into a clarion call, it was not just mere annotation anymore. It was mobilization. And in that moment, the internet was not just a witness to history, it became history’s weapon. Our soil is especially ripe for this transformation because Bangladesh is a young country. Youth make up about one-third of our population.  Among registered voters, more than 30 percent are under 35. But until recently, many of those young people stayed away from elections. A survey found that 54 percent of youths had never voted in a general election. Another study reported 75 percent of youth said they had never participated in a national election. Then came July 2024. The student uprisings shook things, and young people poured into streets and into screens. Hashtags, meme pages, comment threads - politics became a conversation again, not just a grand show by old parties. Some who had never voted before began reading debates in comments, watching candidate profiles, sharing sarcastic memes about corruption, inequality, demand for change. The mix of memes and youth has created new fault lines. The young are less patient with old speeches, more drawn to sharp humor, more likely to share than just listen. In a filtered feed, one clever meme can travel faster and wider than a campaign leaflet ever could. Satire sharpens its edge: DUCSU 2025 The tide swelled in 2025 through the Dhaka University Central Students Union (DUCSU) and hall union elections. Campaigns abandoned hollow chants and embraced parody. Posters mocked currency. Slogans dripped with sarcasm, and memes that were once laughed off as simple jokes began to carry real weight, almost like political manifestos. But every sword casts a dreadful shadow as well. With satire came smear. Falsehoods spread like wildfire, targeting candidates, especially women, with venomous precision. The Election Commission intervened with warnings. It felt as if online missteps could carry the same weight as tampering with ballots. A sobering truth emerged - satire was no longer just harmless fun. It had become a fatal double-edged weapon, capable of ending someone’s career as easily as saving it. Faceless army: The bot Invasion Yet hidden behind the scene, a silent power directs the show. Bot armies, silent and relentless, amplify narratives, drown dissent and create illusions of consensus. A candidate’s popularity, or its perception at least, can be inflated in minutes. Critics can be buried beneath waves of coordinated noise. For the common voter scrolling through their feed, the line between genuine support and engineered approval has all but disappeared. Humor may lighten the meme wars, but distortion fuels them. And in this strange new arena, the opponent may not be another citizen; but an ‘Army of Shadows’. Election 2026: Rules of war rewritten As the nation steels itself for the 13th general election in 2026, the Election Commission has laid down a new code of combat. The old order is gone. Posters, festoons, and PVC banners - all summarily banished. Billboard ads, once towering symbols of influence, cut down to just twenty per constituency. Every social media handle must now be declared, every message subject to scrutiny. A single misleading post could summon not applause but imprisonment and a fine sharp enough to cripple a campaign. Clearly, the age of poster wars has ended. The age of meme wars has begun. No longer will victory belong to those who command the walls of a city. It will belong to those who command its feeds. Candidates who wield satire with skill and algorithms with precision will surge forward. Those clinging to the relics of the old world will fade into irrelevance. But the danger is stark as one careless meme can undo a career. One viral punchline can crown a leader. The margin between triumph and ruin has never been so thin. Warnings from Abroad Look abroad for signs of what may come. In Germany’s 2021 federal election, researchers documented how campaigns and disinformation used social media to sway voters. Platforms struggled to stem the tide of fake news flooding timelines. One study found that extra ad impressions on social media could shift vote shares by a few percentage points. (OUP Academic) Meanwhile, in Tanzania, ahead of its 2025 election, the government blocked access to X (formerly Twitter) after alleged “cyberattacks” — raising questions about whether this new “public square” can be shut down at will. These examples reveal both the promise and peril of digital politics: memes and algorithms can spark change, but they can also be captured, censored, or twisted by those in control. Perils of the ‘new age’ Yet the odyssey ahead is artful. The imposed regulations on ‘harmful content’ may become a stern shackle for dissent. Legions of bots could shake the very foundations of democracy, turning honest debate into a battlefield of deception. It is certain that the eco-friendly reforms will save the environment, but there lies risks of sidelining candidates who lack digital muscle to compete. Thus, the stage of Bangladeshi politics has been transformed. The festoon and the poster, once the lifeblood of campaigns, now surrender to social media, memes and hashtags. What once simply entertained has become a calculated strategy. What once adorned walls now shapes destinies. As the countdown to the 2026 election continues, one thing is clear - the real fight won’t be in crowded squares or noisy rallies, but in the digital feeds where stories are crafted, sharpened, and spread. And make no mistake, that battle is already underway. The streets may still reverberate with echoes, but the screens will be the dominant medium, for sure. And, in this kingdom of pixels and punchlines, the victor will not be the one who shouts the loudest, but the one who makes the world laugh, click and believe.