Gen-Z Advocates for Political Influence in Bangladesh Following Hasina’s Departure

In Bangladesh, Gen-Z activists struggle to turn the momentum of protests into political power as their new NCP party encounters powerful opponents.

The National Citizen Party (NCP), Bangladesh’s new political platform, is fighting for relevance ahead of the February elections, and Gen-Z activists who helped overthrow longtime leader Sheikh Hasina are now finding it difficult to convert their street momentum into electoral successes.

The student-run party is up against well-established rivals with vast networks and substantial financial resources, despite its promises to end decades of nepotism and two-party dominance. Nahid Islam, who led the NCP during last year’s deadly riots and was temporarily a member of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus’s caretaker government, acknowledges the organization is still in its infancy.

According to a December International Republican Institute poll, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has 30% support and Jamaat-e-Islami has 26%, placing the NCP in a distant third place with only 6%. The party, according to many early supporters, has not taken firm stances on important topics, such as minority and women’s rights.

Its failure to secure any seats in the student elections held at Dhaka University, the epicenter of the rebellion, in September has increased skepticism. Currently disqualified from running in the national election, Hasina’s Awami League issues a warning of instability should the ban be upheld.

The NCP, which has a minimal organizational structure, little funding, and an uncertain rights agenda, is negotiating a possible coalition with the BNP and Jamaat. Analysts caution that such a combination may erode the party’s revolutionary ethos, while internal officials worry they might not be able to win a single seat on their own.

There is now just a small core of students left to create the NCP, as the majority of them who banded together to overthrow Hasina have reverted to regular political groupings. Candidates still struggle to raise money, so they rely on salary, modest gifts, and crowdsourcing. Hasnat Abdullah is one of the leaders who campaign door-to-door, asking people to put accountability over favoritism.

The party’s reputation has been further damaged by accusations of graft against several NCP figures, which the party has refuted. However, a lot of young Bangladeshis see it as an uncommon attempt to change a political landscape that is controlled by wealth, power, and dynasties.

The NCP conducted an unprecedented statewide search for parliamentary candidates in November, interviewing over 1,000 common people, including a student activist who was partially blind and a rickshaw puller. The goal of supporters like physician Tasnim Jara, who quit his job in Cambridge to join the party, is to create a more diverse movement.

BNP officials note the growing political importance of the youth and indicate they are willing to collaborating with the Gen-Z bloc. With aspirations for long-term institutional transformation, the NCP views the next election as only the start.

“Whether you win or lose, just participating offers something new,” NCP leader Abdullah stated.