Jamaat Story: Barred From Bangladesh Polls For Years, Party Registers Its Best Performance Yet

Last Updated:February 13, 2026, 14:41 IST

Jamaat-e-Islami is set to take the position of the primary opposition party in Bangladesh, something it has never achieved before.

Bangladesh’s Jamaat-e-Islami is set to make history with its best performance ever in Bangladesh elections. It’s historic not just because it is Jamaat has won more much more seats than it did in the past elections, but also because these come after the outfit remained barred from polls for over 12 years.

Jamaat had won 49 seats according to the Bangladesh Election Commission data around 12 noon and was on its way to winning over 55 seats, according to local reports. From what it looks like, Jamaat is set to take the position of the primary opposition party in Bangladesh, something it has never achieved before.

Even as Jamaat calls the elections “rigged", it is witnessing its best play ever in Bangladesh.

How Is This Jamaat’s Best Performance?

The best seat tally that Jamaat saw in Bangladesh was 18 seats in 1991. It’s worst was 2 seats, which is what it got before contesting the 2026 election.

Here’s a look at the historical data on Jamaat’s parliamentary results over the years in Bangladesh:

1991: 18 seats — their best showing in competitive elections before 2026 (first time contesting many seats with a significant vote share).

1996: 3 seats

2001: 17 seats (as part of an alliance).

2008: 2 seats (allied).

After 2013 their registration was cancelled, barring them from contesting until it was restored before the 2026 polls. It is now poised to win close to 60 seats.

How Did Jamaat Get To Becoming The Prime Opposition In Bangladesh?

Jamaat was barred from contesting elections for years and only recently had its registration restored. The party’s resurgence reflects the changed political landscape after the 2024 uprising and the absence of the Awami League in the 2026 race.

According to an earlier News18 report, Jamaat planners had carried out deep constituency-level analysis, drawing on voting data from the 1991 and 1996 elections and combining it with recent internal surveys. This exercise led Jamaat to reassess prospects across all 300 parliamentary seats.

By October 2024, the party had identified 162 constituencies where victory appeared achievable with focused effort. In what insiders described as an “intelligent consolidation," Jamaat diverted organisational strength, cadre deployment, and resources away from the remaining 138 seats to concentrate on these priority battlegrounds. Dhaka emerged as a special focus, with around 20 constituencies receiving extra attention because of their political weight and symbolic value.

The party placed unusual emphasis on voter mobilisation mechanics. Sources claimed that nearly 1.5 million expatriate supporters aligned with Jamaat were prepared to vote through postal ballots, alongside a large pool of eligible domestic voters.

In urban centres, particularly the capital, Jamaat’s Women’s Wing and Islami Chhatri Sangstha conducted door-to-door surveys to map voter behaviour. These units were also tasked with street-level mobilisation on polling day. Jamaat-Shibir activists were expected to reach polling booths immediately after Fajr prayers, aiming to establish early dominance in queues. Insiders saw this as a scaled-up version of tactics that helped them win student union elections at Dhaka University and several other public universities — successes viewed internally as rehearsals for the national contest.

Sources say Jamaat’s organisational push was underpinned by deep financial and institutional advantages. The party is believed to have earmarked substantial campaign funds for 162 to 188 priority seats, with estimates ranging from BDT 50 to 100 crore per constituency. Jamaat was also reportedly covering campaign expenses for allied outfits, including the National Citizen Party.

On Friday, as results came, Satkhira, Kushtia, parts of Khulna belt of West Bengal facing border and the Rangpur region emerged as Jamaat’s strongest clusters. Satkhira, Kushtia and Rangpur together form a continuous arc facing West Bengal, Assam and the Siliguri corridor.

Jamaat Alleges Rigging

On election day, Jamaat Ameer Shafiqur Rahman said that the party would accept the outcome of the election if the polls were free and fair and urged all parties to accept the will of the voters. He also thanked the public for voting after a long period of political exclusion.

However, as results poured out on Friday, Jamaat expressed dissatisfaction with the way results were being announced, raising concerns about transparency. The party claimed “narrow and suspicious defeats" in several constituencies. They alleged inconsistencies in unofficial result announcements.

The party also criticised the Election Commission for not publishing voter turnout figures and alleged bias by parts of the administration in favour of a major party.

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