Bangladesh's Gen-Z struggles to gain political ground after ousting Hasina

Thousands in Bangladesh flocked to hear the plans of the students who toppled longtime leader Sheikh Hasina when they launched a new political party this year, but now it finds itself struggling to translate the street power into votes.

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Fighting to deliver on its promise to free the nation from decades of nepotism and two-party dominance, the student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) faces entrenched rivals with deep networks and resources as polls approach in February.

“Our organisation is weak because we haven’t had enough time to build it,” said its chief Nahid Islam, prominent in last year’s deadly anti-government protests who served briefly in the caretaker administration under Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.

“We are aware of this, but we are still taking on the challenge,” added the 27-year-old, speaking from the party office in a high-rise in Dhaka, the capital, where one wall was covered in graffiti depicting crowds in revolt.

Opinion polls show the NCP, which aims to contest all 300 seats, in third place, with support of just 6 per cent, far behind the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, which leads with 30 per cent.

Even the hardline Jamaat-e-Is-lami will do better than the NCP, coming in second with 26 per cent, a December poll by a US-based nonprofit, the International Republican Institute, showed.