News Desk
DHAKA: Shafiqur Rahman has long existed on the margins of Bangladeshi politics, but his face now dominates posters and billboards across Dhaka as voters are urged to elect the country’s first Jamaat‑e‑Islami‑led government in Thursday’s general election.
The 67-year-old doctor and JI chief has emerged from near obscurity to become a serious contender for the prime ministership. A coalition led by JI is expected to mount a close challenge against the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Bangladesh will vote on February 12 in its first national election since a Gen Z‑led uprising toppled former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in 2024.
Opinion polls suggest that the once‑banned JI is heading for its strongest performance yet. Under Hasina, authorities cracked down on the party, jailing top leaders, sentencing some to death, banning the party, and driving it underground. Rahman himself was arrested in 2022 and jailed for 15 months. But the 2024 uprising shifted the political landscape.
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