Even in Bangladesh’s fluid political scene, Shah Mohammad Abu Zafar stands out for his frequent shifts in loyalty.
Having won his first election on an Awami League (Malek faction) ticket from Faridpur-1 in 1979, Zafar changed parties seven times in 11 elections during a career that spans 46 years.
The 81-year-old is set to run in the upcoming election under the Nationalist Democratic Front, representing the Janata Party Bangladesh.
In 1986, he won as a BAKSAL nominee, followed by another victory in 1988 as a Jatiya Party candidate. He lost the 1991 and June 1996 elections contesting from the same party. In 2001, he ran from another faction of the Jatiya Party (JP) but was defeated. He also lost elections as a BNP candidate in 2008 and 2018. Most recently, in the 2024 election, he contested as the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Movement but was again defeated.
Zafar is not alone in this game of switching loyalties. There are several others who have joined new parties -- or dissolved their own -- ahead of the February polls.
Redwan Ahmed resigned from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and formally joined the BNP on December 24 to secure a nomination for Cumilla-7. The businessman was first elected as an MP in 1986 on a JP ticket. In 1991, he won as an independent and in 2001 as a BNP candidate. In 2006, he left the BNP to join Oli Ahmed’s LDP, which he recently quit.
Meanwhile, the LDP of Oli Ahmed, a freedom fighter and retired colonel, recently joined the Jamaat-e-Islami-led electoral alliance for the next election.
Oli had begun his political life in 1980 by joining the BNP. He won a by-election that year and went on to win the seat four times between 1991 and 2001 on a BNP ticket. In 2006, he was among the founders of the Liberal Democratic Party, which later became part of the AL-led alliance. He won the 2008 polls as part of the AL-led alliance but joined a BNP-led alliance in 2012. However, in December 2025, the LDP left the alliance over a seat-sharing disagreement.
The Amar Bangladesh (AB) Party was formed in May 2020 by a group of Jamaat reformists. The group included former Jamaat and Shibir leaders who were disgruntled over their then-party’s refusal to apologise for its role in the Liberation War and its failure to pursue pragmatic reforms. Recently, the AB Party, led by Mojibur Rahman Monju, joined the Jamaat-led alliance. In its electoral debut, Monju is running from Feni-2.
Bangladesh LDP Chairman Shahadat Hossain Selim dissolved his party to join the BNP and is running from Laxmipur-1. Selim was the founding general secretary of Chattogram Metropolitan Chhatra Dal and later a joint secretary of BNP’s Chattogram metro unit. He joined the LDP in 2006 but formed Bangladesh LDP in 2019.
Reza Kibria, son of slain former Awami League stalwart Shah AMS Kibria, joined Gonoforum ahead of the 2018 polls and contested that election using the BNP’s electoral symbol under the Jatiya Oikyafront alliance. In 2021, he joined Gono Odhikar Parishad as its founding convener but left in 2024. He joined the BNP in December 2025 and is contesting from Habiganj-1.
Rustum Ali Faraji was first elected MP in 1996 on a JP (Ershad) ticket. He joined the Manju faction following a split in 1988. He joined the BNP and was elected MP in 2001. In 2014, he won as an independent and joined JP (Ershad) again. In 2018, he was elected as an Awami League-alliance candidate. He lost the 2024 polls as an independent and later joined Islami Andolan Bangladesh in August 2025. He is contesting from Pirojpur-3.
Ahead of the next polls, Syed Ehsanul Huda dissolved the Bangladesh Jatiya Dal; Rashed Khan resigned as general secretary of Gono Odhikar Parishad; and Bobby Hajjaj relinquished his chairmanship of the Nationalist Democratic Movement (NDM) to join the BNP. Huda is contesting from Kishoreganj-5, Rashed from Jhenaidah-4, and Bobby Hajjaj from Dhaka-13. All three are running with the BNP’s sheaf of paddy symbol.
Professor Abu Sayeed is contesting as an independent from Pabna-1. He was first elected as an Awami League MP in 1970. Later, he joined the Abdur Razzaq-led BAKSAL and contested the 1991 polls. He returned to the Awami League and won in June 1996. During the army-backed caretaker government in 2007, he was labelled a “reformist,” and therefore was denied nominations in the next two elections. He contested the 2014 election as an independent, joined Gonoforum ahead of the 2018 polls, and contested using the BNP symbol.
Anisul Islam Mahmud was elected in 1979 on a BNP ticket and later won elections in 1986 and 1988 as a Jatiya Party candidate. He was elected in 2008, 2014, 2018, and 2024 as a JP nominee under the Awami League alliance. In August 2025, he became leader of a faction of the Jatiya Party. His nomination for Chattogram-5 was rejected by the returning officer, and the Election Commission has not changed its decision upon appeal. The only resort left is to seek redress in the High Court.
Election expert and a former additional secretary of the Election Commission, Jesmin Tuli, said politicians who frequently change parties are not concerned with the betterment of parties -- let alone the country. “When someone leaves a party and contests under another symbol, it shows that the party itself is not their priority; winning is,” she said.
Another election expert, Abdul Alim, said many now view political parties as a business. “They think becoming an MP is a huge investment followed by a big return,” he said, adding that once elected, many see themselves as the absolute authority of their constituency.
Alim said in Bangladesh, people still vote for the symbol, and the chance of victory is always higher for the big parties.
Both Tuli and Alim said a provision of the Representation of the People’s Order Act stipulating three years of party membership to be eligible for a nomination was omitted when the RPO was amended and passed by the parliament in 2013. It is essential to bring it back, both said.
PAST RECORDS
Frequent change of loyalty is hardly a novelty in Bangladesh and has been part of electoral politics for decades.
One name that comes first in this regard is Shah Moazzem Hossain. Elected from the Awami League (AL) in 1973, he was the first chief whip. After his party leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated, he joined then president Khondakar Mostaq Ahmad’s Democratic League. Following BNP founder Ziaur Rahman’s assassination and HM Ershad’s takeover, Shah Moazzem joined hands with Ershad and was among the founders of Janadal, which later transformed into the Jatiya Party led by Ershad. He was elected MP twice on Jatiya Party tickets. He later joined the BNP in 2006 and contested the 2008 and 2018 elections as their nominee, losing both times.
Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury was elected an AL MP in 1973. After the assassination of Bangabandhu, he led an AL faction and won in the 1979 election. In 1984, he too joined Janadal. He became prime minister in 1986 under Ershad and was elected MP again in 1991. In 2001, he rejoined the Awami League and served as the party’s adviser until his death.
Moudud Ahmed was elected in 1979 as a BNP candidate, later winning elections in 1986, 1988, and 1991 as a JP nominee. He returned to the BNP in 1996 and won the Noakhali-1 seat in 2001. In 2008, he won Bogura-7 (vacated by Khaleda Zia) but lost in 2018.
Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury won Chattogram-6 in 1979 on a ticket from the Muslim League and the Islamic Democratic League, an alliance which fielded candidates jointly. He also won elections as a JP nominee in 1986 and as a National Democratic Party nominee in 1991. He won as a BNP candidate in 1996, 2001, and 2008.
Former speaker Shamsul Huda Chowdhury was elected MP in 1979 under the BNP banner. In 1986 and 1988, he ran as a JP candidate, and in 1996 as an AL nominee.
Suranjit Sengupta lost in 1973 as a NAP (Mozaffar) candidate. He won in 1979 with a Jatiya Ekota Party ticket. In 1986, he won as a National Awami Party candidate and in 1991 as a NAP candidate. He later joined the Awami League. Although he lost in June 1996, he returned to parliament through a by-election in October 1997 and went on to serve three consecutive terms until 2014.
KM Obaidur Rahman began with the Awami League, winning in 1973. He joined the BNP in 1978 and was elected in 1979. He later won the June 1996 and 2001 elections. He served as a cabinet member under Khondakar Mostaq Ahmad and later formed Janata Dal during the Ershad era.
Bangladesh’s first female MP, Syeda Razia Faiz, was elected in a 1979 by-election from the Muslim League led by Khan A Sabur. In 1987, she joined the Jatiya Party and became a minister. She contested the 1991 and 1996 elections from the same party. Later, in 2008, she joined the BNP and remained with the party until her death.
