Bangladesh polls highlights: BNP inches towards majority, Jamaat bags 34; Tarique Rahman wins 2 seats

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: For the first time in 30 years, the election symbol of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League – boat – has not appeared on the ballot paper in Bangladesh's crucial general election, voting for which is being held on Thursday.

This is the first election since Hasina was ousted after massive nationwide protests in August 2024.

One of the country's oldest political parties, the Awami League, has boycotted parliamentary elections twice in the past. This time, however, it is unable to take part at all, as its registration remains suspended.

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: There have been reports of electoral violence from multiple places in Bangladesh.

In Gopalganj, three persons, including a 13-year-old girl, have been injured in an alleged hand bomb attack at a polling station, BDnews24 reported.

In a separate incident, a series of hand bomb explosions have taken place outside a polling station in the Munshiganj-3 constituency, temporarily disrupting voting.

Also, a BNP leader has died during an altercation with Jamaat-e-Islami activists outside a polling centre in Khulna.

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: The overall voter turnout stood at 32.88 per cent across 32,789 polling centres till 12:00pm, EC senior secretary Akhtar Ahmed was quoted as saying by Prothom Alo.

The voting began at 7:30 am local time (07:00 IST) and will end at 4:30 pm local time (16:00 IST).

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: The body of a 28-year-old tea worker was reportedly recovered from a garden in northeastern Bangladesh on the eve of the election, police said on Wednesday.

The deceased was identified as Ratan Shuvo Kar, a worker at Champara Tea Garden under Islampur union in Moulvibazar’s Kamalganj upazila, about 190 km from the capital Dhaka, reported Bangladesh daily The Daily Star, Kamalganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abdul Awal.

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: The overall voter turnout stands at 32.88 per cent across 32,789 polling centres till 12:00pm, election commission senior secretary Akhtar Ahmed was quoted as saying by Prothom Alo.

Bangladesh voted Thursday in its first election since a deadly 2024 uprising, as parties crushed under Sheikh Hasina's rule return to the fray with a powerful political heir facing an Islamist-led coalition.

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: Returning officers in Bangladesh have received 1.12 million ballots from both overseas and domestic electors, bdnews24 reported.

By 1pm on Thursday, 1,125,382 ballots arrived, including 488,281 from overseas and 637,101 from within the country, the report said.

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: In past elections, unofficial trends have usually started coming in early the next morning.

However, ECB officials told local media that the count could take longer this year. The process will include both the white parliamentary ballot papers and the pink ballots used for the referendum on the July National Charter.

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: BNP leader Mohibuzzaman Kochi died during a confrontation with Jamaat-e-Islami supporters outside a polling centre in Khulna city of the country, bdnews24 reported.

The party claimed that he died after a Jamaat leader “pushed him” towards a tree. Meanwhile, Jamaat centre director Mahbubur Rahman said, “The BNP people were throwing out our female workers. I stopped them. Then one of them fell ill. I heard later on that he died.”

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: National Citizen Party (NCP) leader Nahid Islam, who was often at the forefront of marches and protests during Sheikh Hasina's regime, is confident of his party's victory in the elections. Notably, NCP is contesting in alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami.

“The 11-party alliance has been formed with the goal of forming the government. We believe we are on the brink of forming the government,” he was quoted as saying by Prothom Alo.

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: Bangladesh, which has a history of violent coups, authoritarian rule and political exile, is not only voting for its next government on Thursday but also taking part in a national referendum to decide whether the July National Charter should be adopted.

The 'July Charter' lays out reforms for good governance, democracy, and social justice through institutional reforms, and to prevent “recurrence of authoritarian and fascist rule”, according to news agency Reuters.

“If the ‘Yes’ vote wins in the referendum, Bangladesh’s future will be built in a more positive way,” Yunus was quoted as saying, adding that a “Yes” verdict would help keep “misrule” away. His administration has actively campaigned to build public support for the 84-point reform package in the run-up to the elections.

The July National Charter - named after the student uprising of July 2024 - outlines plans for constitutional amendments, legal changes and new legislation. A National Consensus Commission formed by the Yunus-led interim government prepared the charter after consultations with major political parties, except Hasina’s Awami League. Full story here.

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: Khaleduz Zaman, Jamaat-e-Islami candidate, who is running against BNP leader Tarique Rahman, alleged discrepancies in the voting process.

Speaking to news agency ANI, he said, “The situation is not good because without a polling agent, in a separate room, someone is sealing the papers. It is totally disappointing. I have seen this in some places. We were hopeful that Jamaat-e-Islami would win the election, but if this happens, how can we have hopes…”

Responding to the claims, Zubair, a member of BNP's student wing ( Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Chatra Dal), said that the situation is “two-sided” and that they were trying to control it.

“…Jamaat-e-Islami, is trying to disrupt it. We have evidence that they're outcasting, misleading voters at the vote centres, and committing criminal activities there. They are casting illegal votes also... The new generation's expectations fully meet the BNP's expectations and are also in conflict with the demands of Jamaat-e-Islami... They're actually an underground party... They do not actually have the right to participate in the National Assembly,” he told ANI.

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: BNP leader Tarique Rahman, who has emerged as the frontrunner, cast his vote at the Gulshan Model School and College centre in Dhaka on Thursday.

After casting his vote, he said, “I have exercised my constitutional right to vote. For more than a decade, the people of Bangladesh have been waiting for this day.”

If elected to power, he said, the party will “lay priority to improving law and order in the country so that people feel secure.”

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: The Border Security Force (BSF) is on high alert at the Fulbari Integrated Check Post (ICP) along the Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri as the 13th Parliamentary elections are underway in Bangladesh.

More than 127 million people are eligible to vote in Bangladesh’s first election since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government collapsed in 2024 after weeks of mass protests. Hasina fled the country and her party is banned from the polls. She is living in exile in India.

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: Three people, including a teenage girl, were injured after a crude bomb went off at a polling centre in Gopalganj city, which is former PM Sheikh Hasina and her party Awami League's former stronghold, on Thursday, Bangladesh's The Business Standard reported.

The presiding officer said the injuries were minor. Polling at the centre continued without disruption despite the blast, the report said.

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: For decades, relations between India and Bangladesh ebbed and flowed with electoral tides. Hasina’s Awami League generally maintained close ties with New Delhi. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its sometime-ally Jamaat-e-Islami charted a different course, one viewed with wariness in Indian corridors of power due to their perceived pro-Pakistan orientation and Islamist views.

The aftermath of Hasina's departure also brought fresh turmoil for religious minorities in the Muslim-majority country. The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council documented over 2,000 incidents of communal violence between August and December 2024, according to the Associated Press.

When the BNP unveiled its 51-point manifesto on February 6, the principle it cited was ‘Bangladesh Before All’. Rahman struck a conciliatory tone for domestic audiences: "The BNP believes not in revenge, but in a politics of justice and humanity. The rights of the people, not power, are at the core of our politics. Production, not plunder; rights, not fear; fairness, not discrimination — these are the principles that will guide the governance of the state."

The election campaign in Bangladesh reflects this situation too. The Awami League's registration and electoral activities have been suspended. Around five dozen registered political parties are participating. Read full story here.

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: Early reports from Bangladesh's The Business Standard, confirmed by election officials, showed that voter turnout in several Dhaka constituencies ranged between 3% and 13% in the first two hours of polling.

The report said the highest early turnout was recorded at Holy Crescent International School and College in Dhaka-9. By 9:30 am, 13% of the 3,212 registered voters there had cast their ballots.

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: Bangladesh chief adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus casted his vote at 10:26 am at Gulshan Model High School and College in Dhaka.

Speaking to the media after casting his vote, Yunus described the day as one of “great joy,” calling it “the birthday of the new Bangladesh", Dhaka Tribune reported.

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Tarique Rahman cast his vote on Thursday as voting got underway in Bangladesh's 13th parliamentary elections. Rahman urged people to exercise their right to vote and expressed optimism for the victory of BNP in the elections.

Immediately after casting his vote Rahman said the BNP would prioritise law and order if voted to power.

"We will prioritise improving law and order in the country so that people feel secure if we can form the government," he said after casting his vote at Gulshan Model High School and College in Gulshan-2.

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: There are very few voters at polling stations in Gopalganj, a former Awami League stronghold.

Gopalganj is the birthplace of Bangladesh’s former leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his daughter, ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

The district has around a million voters, and polling agents are hoping for a turnout of about 50%. However, only a small number of people had arrived when polling centres were visited there this morning, BBC reported.

Despite the low presence, polling agents expect turnout to rise as the day moves forward.

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Tarique Rahman cast his vote at Gulshan Model School and College centre in the Gulshan area of Dhaka.

The elections are the first since the August 2024 student-led uprising ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, ending her 15-year autocratic rule.

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: Tarique Rahman, chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and son of former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia, arrived at the polling centre at Gulshan Model School and College in Dhaka to cast his vote in the 13th parliamentary elections.

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: Tarique Rahman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party is among the frontrunners to form the next government.

He is the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia. Rahman returned to Bangladesh in December after spending 17 years in self-imposed exile in London. He has promised to strengthen democratic institutions, bring back the rule of law and revive the struggling economy.

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: The Jamaat-e-Islami party has nominated a Hindu candidate for the first time in its history.

Krishna Nandi is contesting as the party’s candidate from the Khulna-1 constituency in the 13th national election. In this Hindu-majority seat, Jamaat has selected Nandi, who heads the Dumuria unit of the party’s Hindu committee.

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League is banned, and she remains in self‑imposed exile in India.

Earlier, she criticised the vote after her party was prevented from contesting. In an email sent to The Associated Press earlier this month, she warned that Bangladesh could face long-term instability if the election is not inclusive, free and fair.

“Each time political participation is denied to a significant portion of the population, it deepens resentment, delegitimises institutions and creates the conditions for future instability," she wrote.

Bangladesh election 2026 live updates: Many of the young people who played a part in removing her government in the 2024 uprising believe this election will be the Muslim-majority nation’s first real contest since 2009, the year Hasina began her 15-year tenure.

The National Citizen Party, led by Gen Z activists under 30, has joined hands with Jamaat after it failed to turn its anti-Hasina street protests into broader voter support.