Dear reader,
Khaleda Zia gone, Sheikh Hasina in exile, the Awami League out of action – these three factors alone make the 2026 Bangladesh election unlike any poll the country has seen in the last 35 years. Meanwhile, a new party of student activists who led the 2024 July Revolution and old Islamist parties have become prominent electoral contenders. These two forces have allied to form a serious opponent to the only established player and the present front-runner, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
This election, Bangladesh’s first since the revolution that overthrew Hasina and ended more than 15 years of her authoritarian – almost despotic – rule, is one of the most critical in the country’s tumultuous history. The interim government that replaced Hasina’s regime has struggled to carry through institutional reforms, and to maintain law and order. Political violence has escalated in the lead-up to the election and minority communities are fearful about politically-motivated social unrest. Many have been disappointed and angered by the student leaders’ choice to join up with Islamist forces. Nobody quite knows what to expect of the BNP, which has broken from its earlier alliance with the Jamaat-e-Islami.
Himal’s virtual cover for February 2026 examines the fate of Bangladesh in the wake of the July Revolution. We present a selection of earlier pieces on the twists and turns over the last year and a half, and anticipate a series of new pieces that will unpack the election over the course of this month.
Last week, Himal published the first of a series of reports on the Bangladesh election. The journalist Shakeel Anwar analyses the contentious alliance between the student-led National Citizen Party and the Jamaat-e-Islami. “Issues that might divide the parties – such as secularism, women’s rights, the protection of minorities and the role of religion in the state – have been conspicuously absent from their joint platforms,” he writes. “Instead, their leaders’ shared rhetoric has centred on corruption, governance failures, electoral credibility, and repression. This silence is deliberate.”
We will have much more in the lead up to the polls on 12 February and beyond: the political scientist Navine Murshid on the erasure of women from current politics despite their central roles in the 2024 uprising; the journalist Shafiur Rahman on what a new government might mean for Rohingya refugees; and a book review by the journalist Cyrus Naji exploring the 2024 uprising, its aftermath, and why radical change has remained elusive.
Stay tuned also for a special video conversation with leading journalists and political commentators in Bangladesh, examining the successes and limits of the July Revolution and the challenges and possibilities of Bangladesh’s post-Hasina future.
The following pieces from Himal’s recent archives reveal Bangladesh’s rocky path from revolution to election, and the impacts of its upheavals within the country and across Southasia.
The unrest that followed Sharif Osman Hadi’s death was 18 months in the making, as an unresolved revolution, selective justice and tolerated street violence steadily destabilised Bangladesh
by Cyrus Naji
India risks permanent damage to its relationship with Bangladesh with a narrative of uncontrolled communal violence after Sheikh Hasina’s fall, ignoring Hasina’s weaponisation of the Hindu minority and how post-revolution violence has been driven more by political reasons
by Zia Hassan
The Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, constrained by its own limitations and a volatile political climate, risks continuing the abuses of the Sheikh Hasina regime in its efforts at transitional justice
by Cyrus Naji
The Modi government must reckon with Bangladeshi anger over its support for Hasina even as the United States, China and Russia all reassess their approaches to Dhaka
by Kamal Ahmed
Muhammad Yunus’ interim government needs to implement reforms to resurrect institutions that Sheikh Hasina had all but dismantled, starting with law and order and banking, says economist and political commentator Jyoti Rahman
by Nayantara Narayanan
Bangladesh’s relationship with Pakistan has become markedly more friendly since the fall of Sheikh Hasina, even as anti-India sentiment has reached an all-time high in the country
by Cyrus Naji
At Himal, we are a small team taking on the mammoth task of covering elections, government transitions, challenges to democracy and much more across Southasia. This takes time, effort and resources, and you can help support our independent regional journalism by becoming a Patron. Support Himal to support Southasia.
All best
Roman Gautam
Editor, Himal Southasian