DHAKA/NEW DELHI: Bangladesh is going to the polls along with a referendum on reforms in less than two weeks in a dramatically changed political landscape, with the once-dominant Awami League barred from contesting and many voters expressing uncertainty over their choices.
Over 127 million people are eligible to cast their ballots in the February 12 polls, widely regarded as the country's most important election in decades and the first since the mass uprising that ended Sheikh Hasina's rule in August 2024.
Interim government Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has described the dual exercise as a "grand festival" and said it would be the most free, fair and peaceful vote in the country's history, laying the foundation for what he called a "new Bangladesh".
But observers say the absence of a major political party and rising political tensions have weakened the competitive character of the election and raised concerns about stability and legitimacy.
With the deposed prime minister Hasina-led Awami League out of the race, the contest has narrowed mainly to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), seen as the frontrunner, and the Jamaat-e-Islami and its allies.
Despite the ban, the Awami League, which led Bangladesh's 1971 Liberation War against Pakistan, is believed to retain a large base of supporters who now find themselves politically sidelined.
"I feel little enthusiasm. I am not sure if I will vote. I don't know whom I should vote for," said Kader Mia, a Dhaka-based tailor in his mid-40s and a lifelong Awami League supporter.
Another supporter in the southwestern city of Barishal, who runs a small garment shop and did not wish to be named, said staying away from the polls could endanger his family as they might be identified as Hasina's supporters and "radical right-wing elements" can target them.
The interim government disbanded the Awami League under the Anti-Terrorism Law months after it was removed from power on August 5, 2024, following violent student-led protests known as the July Uprising that forced Hasina into exile in India.
A special tribunal sentenced Hasina to death in November last year on charges of crimes against humanity linked to her crackdown on protesters, a verdict that many Bangladeshi and foreign analysts have described as "rushed" and "flawed".
Yunus has suggested that Awami League voters are "up for grabs", while Hasina, in interviews with international and Indian media, has said her supporters could boycott the polls.
She warned that a government "born of exclusion" would fail to unite a divided nation and would lead to prolonged instability in Bangladesh.
Sensing an opportunity, the BNP has appealed to Awami League supporters by stressing "secular nationalism".
The party ended its long-standing alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami in August 2025, a move analysts see as an effort to attract voters who once backed the Hasina-led party.
BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman and Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir have increasingly referred to the values of the 1971 Liberation War, the core pillar of Awami League's identity, to signal shared patriotic roots.
In a recent public address, Alamgir said Hasina had fled to India, leaving her supporters "vulnerable" and "in trouble" and claimed the BNP was now "standing by them in a difficult time".