Student-Led NCP Crushed in Bangladesh Elections, Wins Only Six Seats

Dhaka, February 13, 2026: The National Citizen Party (NCP), formed by student leaders who had spearheaded protests against Sheikh Hasina in July–August 2024, suffered a crushing defeat in Thursday’s parliamentary elections. Despite high expectations and backing from Muhammad Yunus, Western agencies, and an alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami, NCP managed to secure only six seats out of the 299 contested.

Election Turnout and Overview

Voter turnout ranged between 40–55%, with an estimated overall participation of just 48%. Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League, which holds a roughly 40% voter base, largely abstained from the elections, while the BNP surged ahead, projected to win over 200 seats. Tarique Rahman is poised to become Bangladesh’s next Prime Minister.

NCP’s Poor Performance

Early official and unofficial results indicate NCP winning only 3–6 seats. Key victories include Nahid Islam in Dhaka-11 with a narrow margin of 2,039 votes and Akhtar Hussain in Rangpur-4. However, several prominent NCP candidates suffered significant defeats:

• Nasiruddin Patwari in Dhaka-8 lost by nearly 5,000 votes to BNP’s Mirza Abbas.
• Mohammad Mahboob Alam in Laxmipur-1, a prominent student protest leader, garnered only 59,265 votes and failed to win.

Analysts note that NCP’s troubles began soon after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government, as internal divisions emerged and the party was directed to ally with Jamaat-e-Islami for electoral gains—an alliance that ultimately backfired.

Reasons Behind the Defeat

1. Internal Conflicts: NCP’s leadership squabbled over status and visibility, weakening grassroots organization. Several female leaders left the party amid disagreements.
2. Overconfidence: Student leaders focused more on media presence than on effective campaigning, underestimating the challenge posed by established parties like BNP.
3. Alliance Fallout: NCP’s partnership with Jamaat-e-Islami alienated voters who expected a secular and inclusive agenda. This association with a party perceived as extremist eroded public trust.
4. Organizational Weakness: Unlike BNP’s well-established cadre system, NCP failed to build a robust organizational structure from local polling booths to national leadership.

Implications

Although NCP helped overthrow Sheikh Hasina’s government through student-led protests, it could not transition its activism into a viable political force. The party’s alignment with Jamaat-e-Islami transformed its image from a reformist student movement into a perceived proxy for an extremist group, costing it credibility among voters.

The election outcome underscores the limits of new, untested political entities in Bangladesh, especially against established parties like BNP, and marks a significant setback for Western-backed efforts to install alternative leadership.