Stating that this has never happened in the country before, the Jamaat leader further said, “Therefore, we can say that on one side there are a handful of people and one or two parties; on the other side stands the whole of Bangladesh. A truly exceptional election is taking place.”

Afterwards, several leaders of Jamaat in their election campaigns equated the voting for their party and a certain kind of guarantee of entering the haven in later life. Political analysts published opinions on this too. But use of such religious rhetoric for seeking votes was not limited to Jamaat or a few other Islamic parties only. Independent candidates also used the strategy. Audios of waaz (Islamic sermons) were played in loudspeakers for hours at their election offices, with requests for people to vote for them. Apparently they had no reason to do so as they were not known for their involvement with doing politics along religious frames.

During a discussion with DW Bangla on 4 February 2026, writer and researcher Altaf Parvez pointed out such proliferation of the use of religious rhetoric in seeking votes. He said, “Use of religious rhetoric has reached an unprecedented height this year. Not only in slogans and speeches, several parties presented their election manifestos, publicity, and statements enshrouding in religious terms. That means, this time around, religion has come to a practical ground and it’s becoming entrenched into the political system of Bangladesh. More importantly, it seems, it is (the use of religion) is becoming a structural reality of politics in Bangladesh.”