2025: The year politics broke, multiplied and reassembled

The year 2025 will be remembered as one of the most turbulent and transformative periods in Bangladesh's political history. Under the interim government led by Nobel laureate Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus, the country underwent an extraordinary political churn marked by constitutional reform initiatives, a dramatic fragmentation of party politics, sustained street mobilisation and intensifying electoral violence. What emerged was neither a smooth transition nor a complete rupture, but a volatile in-between phase that left Bangladesh politically awakened yet deeply polarised.

At the heart of this transformation was an unprecedented explosion of political parties. Never before had so many new platforms emerged within a single year. Many of them were formed without permanent offices, grassroots networks or organisational depth, reflecting both the openness of the political moment and the fragility of institutional politics. The proliferation signalled a widespread desire to reclaim political space after years of restricted participation, but it also raised concerns about fragmentation and credibility.

The year began on January 3 with Advocate Iqbal Kabir announcing the Desh Janata Party. Later in January, Major General Md Ehtesham ul Haque launched Bangladesh Democratic Power, while Aam Jantar Dal appeared as a renamed faction of the Gono Odhikar Parishad under Colonel (Retd) Mia Mashiuzzaman. February witnessed a sharp escalation. Ismail Samrat transformed his student platform into the Bangladesh Jana Adhikar Party on February 17, followed the next day by the Bangladesh Social Democratic Party chaired by Engineer Dr Bibhuti Roy. The National Citizens Party emerged on February 28 with Nahid Islam as convener and Akhtar Hossain as member secretary, later becoming one of the few new parties to secure Election Commission registration.

The pace continued through March and April. Janatar Dal, composed of former army officers, politicians, bureaucrats and NGO professionals, was unveiled on March 20. Democratic Citizens Power followed on April 11 under Abdul Malek Faraji, while the Bhasani Janshakti Party launched on April 13. Destiny Group's Mohammad Rafiqul Amin announced the Bangladesh A-Aam Janata Party on April 17. Janata Party Bangladesh debuted on April 25 under Ilias Kanchan, followed by the Bangladesh Notundhara Janatar Party and the New Bangladesh Party in quick succession. Additional parties continued to emerge throughout the year, culminating in the formation of the Bangladesh United Party on October 28.

Alongside this proliferation, alliance politics intensified as parties sought relevance through consolidation. Jamaat-e-Islami led the formation of the Islamic Electoral Agreement, uniting several Islamist parties under a common electoral framework. Reform-oriented forces came together under the Gonotantrik Songskar Jot, linking the National Citizens Party with AB Party and Rashtra Sanskar Andolan. Left and democratic parties regrouped under the Democratic United Front, while the Jatiya Party spearheaded the National Democratic Front, a broad coalition of nearly twenty parties. These alliances reflected both ideological alignment and tactical necessity in an overcrowded political field.

Political mobilisation, however, unfolded against a backdrop of persistent violence. Campaigning and party activities frequently turned deadly, exposing the fragility of public order. On November 5, Ershad Ullah, convener of Chittagong City BNP and the party's nominated candidate for Chittagong-8, was shot dead during an election campaign. The same day saw the killing of Sarwar Hossain, known as Babla. Later that month, clashes between Jamaat and BNP activists in Pabna left dozens injured, including senior Jamaat leader Professor Abu Taleb Mandal.

December brought further bloodshed. On December 12, Sharif Osman Hadi, independent Dhaka-8 candidate and spokesperson of Inqilab Manch, was shot dead in Bijoynagar. Subsequent clashes between BNP and Jamaat activists in Bhola injured more than thirty people. These incidents underscored the increasingly violent nature of electoral competition as parties prepared for the national polls.