Jamaat-e-Islami appears to have begun rewriting its political story through the 13th national polls. Once rooted largely in rural heartlands, the party has now made visible inroads into urban constituencies, drawing support from affluent and educated voters.
Analysis of final result sheets shows that in the February 12 polls, Jamaat secured 10 of the 45 seats located in city corporation areas across the country. In another seat, a candidate from Jamaat’s 11-party alliance won, while results from one constituency remain withheld.
The change is striking against historical patterns. Since 1991, all of Jamaat’s victories had come from rural constituencies.
“Jamaat’s results mark a significant political shift, as Islamic-based parties are now performing better in urban areas. Their popularity is gradually increasing among the educated and affluent classes,” said Prof Sk Tawfique M Haque, director of the South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance at North South University.
Dhaka University political science Professor Sabbir Ahmed said Jamaat, from its rightist stance, has been showing a tendency toward centrism. “We saw this just yesterday, when the Jamaat leader went to the central Shaheed Minar to offer tribute to language martyrs on February 21.
“That too is proof that they are leaning toward a centrist position, which has an impact. Because the liberal, urban educated class prefers this kind of approach. For that reason, their change or shift has been accepted by many.”
STRONG PRESENCE
Election Commission data shows that of the 45 constituencies in 11 city corporation areas, including Chattogram-4, where results are withheld, the BNP won 21 seats. These include Rajshahi-2, Khulna-3, Barishal-5, Mymensingh-4, Dhaka-6 to 10, Dhaka-13, Dhaka-17 and 18, Gazipur-1 and 2, Narayanganj-3 and 5, Sylhet-1 to 3, Cumilla-6, and Chattogram-5, 8, 9, 10 and 11.
Jamaat won 10 seats: Rangpur-1, 2 and 3, Khulna-2, Dhaka-4 and 5, Dhaka-12, and Dhaka-14, 15 and 16. Jamaat-led alliance’s National Citizen Party won Dhaka-11. Of Dhaka’s 15 constituencies, Jamaat secured six.
There were also close contests in several other Dhaka seats. In Dhaka-7, 8, 10, 13, and 17, Jamaat or alliance candidates lost by narrow margins. The gap was 2,320 votes in Dhaka-13, 3,300 in Dhaka-10, 4,399 in Dhaka-17, and 5,239 in Dhaka-8.
Sabbir Ahmed said, “Jamaat has managed to build a hold among the lower urban classes, particularly the working people, in various ways. I believe this shows that they have gradually entered urban areas. For them, relying on this lower-class base has made it easier to strengthen their position and increase their votes.”
“I have noticed similar patterns in several constituencies around Dhaka as well. Therefore, I think it would be wrong to take it for granted that they [Jamaat] cannot establish influence in urban areas. On the contrary, they have already created opportunities to perform well in future elections,” he said.
Tawfique pointed out, “In Gulshan, a constituency where people are usually educated and liberal, Jamaat lost by only a very narrow margin, which highlights their growing strength.
“Many of these constituencies have madrassas, and in some seats, voters were strategically transferred from other constituencies to boost their chances. Young voters have shown strong support, and notably, many women voters have also backed them. My general observation is that in constituencies with higher turnout, the BNP performed well, while Jamaat tended to do better in seats with lower turnout.”
WHAT HISTORY SHOWS
In 1991, Jamaat won 18 seats, all outside city corporation areas: Dinajpur-6, Bogura-2, Chapainawabganj-3, Naogaon-4, Natore-3, Pabna-1 and 5, Chuadanga-2, Jessore-6, Bagerhat-4, Khulna-6, Satkhira-1, 2, 3 and 5, Rajbari-2, Chattogram-14, and Cox’s Bazar-1.
In June 1996, it won three seats: Nilphamari-3, Satkhira-2, and Pirojpur-1 -- again all outside city corporation areas.
Since then, Jamaat has contested elections in alliance with the BNP. In 2001, it won 17 seats; in 2008, two -- all from rural constituencies. BNP and Jamaat boycotted the one-sided polls of 2014 and 2024. In 2018, Jamaat contested using BNP’s symbol in an election marred by ballot stuffing the night before polling.
Political analyst Altaf Parvez said, “There are many reasons behind Jamaat’s success. In fact, it is the result of their organisational activities over the past 15–20 years combined with various social changes. For example, Jamaat has long faced criticism for its anti-Liberation War role in 1971. But in my view, this is no longer a major issue for young people. For new voters, it is not a significant concern.”
He added, “Secondly, Jamaat has never been in power in Bangladesh. This has given them a certain advantage. Beyond that, Jamaat has directly provided material support to a large section of society. They distributed rice and lentils, and arranged medical treatment.
“Another factor is that anti-India sentiment has become a strong political product in Bangladesh. Jamaat has been able to capitalise on this effectively.”
Altaf also noted that Bangladeshis are generally religious, and over the past two decades the influence of religion has grown.
“Finally, after the uprising, the BNP filed many cases against Awami League supporters, while with a few exceptions Jamaat did not do that. As a result, many minority voters and Awami League supporters felt safer with Jamaat,” he said.
Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair, assistant secretary general of Jamaat, said, “We have been carrying out our organisational activities in Dhaka and other cities for a long time, especially social and humanitarian programmes. Every city has a huge population, and a large portion of them belong to lower-income or marginalised groups, and the party has tried to stand by them.
“For the past 16–17 years, we could not engage in open politics, but our social work never stopped. Despite organisational obstacles, we continued our social and humanitarian activities.”
He added that in cities, especially Dhaka, Jamaat tried to nominate quality and capable candidates.
“All of these combined helped us achieve good results from the people,” he said.
