As Bangladesh braces for its general elections on February 12, the high-octane campaign trail went quiet Tuesday, marking the end of official politicking. Enforced by the strict 2025 Parliamentary Election Rules, the 48-hour pre-vote hush began at sunrise, giving voters a breather from the onslaught of promises and pledges.
The Dhaka Tribune notes that parties launched efforts January 22 after symbols were distributed. Final hours brimmed with oaths from leaders urging turnout and loyalty.
Spotlight falls on dueling opinion polls underscoring a BNP-Jamaat showdown. Eminence Associates for Social Development’s mega-poll, interrogating 41,500 across all constituencies, hands BNP’s alliance 208 projected seats versus Jamaat’s 46. CEO Shamiul Haider Talukder spotlighted this at Dhaka’s agriculture institute Monday.
Flipping the script, International Institute of Law and Diplomacy sees parity: 105 for Jamaat, 101 for BNP. Nationalist Research Cell, from Dhaka University old boys, bets big on BNP with 220 seats and 77% votes.
These surveys, varying in scope and method, stir debate on reliability and influence. Pundits stress they shape hype over hard predictions in a tense electoral climate. Bangladesh’s voters now hold the power to redefine governance, with outcomes potentially reshaping South Asian geopolitics.