But for the first time, they have emerged as one of the two contenders for state power. Although the Jamaat-led alliance has included a few parties such as the National Citizen Party (NCP), AB Party, and LDP in an effort to move away from being labeled purely as an Islamist identity-based bloc, their number of seats is very small. Therefore, the 11-party alliance led by Jamaat remains, in essence, an Islamist identity-based political coalition.

Setting aside the question of how well this Islamist identity-based alliance will perform in the election, or whether it will be able to create any real competition at all, it can still be said that, for the first time since independence, they have established themselves as a significant political alliance in the country.

Awami League’s absence has also played a role in this alliance’s rise to prominence; had the Awami League taken part in the election, it would likely have been the BNP’s principal rival. After Sheikh Hasina’s fall, there was justified public anger against the Awami League. Capitalizing on that sentiment, Jamaat, the National Citizen Party (NCP), and other Islamist parties, through their movement, were unable to secure a complete ban on the Awami League, but they did succeed in getting its political activities prohibited, effectively removing it from the electoral field.