Student activists in Bangladesh, who played a key role in bringing down the government last year, have officially launched a new political party ahead of the upcoming elections. The newly formed party, named Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad (Democratic Student Council), brings together core members of Students Against Discrimination (SAD) — the student group that led the mass protests which ultimately toppled former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August.
Bangladesh’s political landscape, known for its deep divisions, saw immediate infighting within the new group, with disagreements over leadership turning into physical altercations during the party’s launch event on Wednesday. Adding to the tensions, another faction of SAD leaders — some of whom hold positions in the interim government — is preparing to announce their own separate political party on Friday.
Interestingly, the Democratic Student Council also includes some students previously affiliated with the youth wing of Hasina’s Awami League. However, according to Zahid Ahsan, a leader of the new group, they have ensured that none of these members were involved in acts of violence or human rights abuses during the revolution. Ahsan emphasized that the party’s main goal is to safeguard student rights and uphold the spirit of last year’s mass movement, which ended Hasina’s authoritarian rule.
Sheikh Hasina, currently in self-imposed exile in India, is facing an arrest warrant in Bangladesh on multiple charges, including alleged crimes against humanity. Tensions remain high, with over 150 people injured in recent clashes between student groups.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel laureate heading Bangladesh’s caretaker government, has announced that general elections will be held in late 2025 or early 2026. Political analysts expect the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Hasina’s longtime rival, to perform strongly in these polls.
In a separate development, Khaleda Zia, leader of the BNP and former prime minister, has urged the interim government to carry out basic electoral reforms to ensure credible elections can be held without delay. Speaking to her party for the first time in six years via an online broadcast, Zia — currently in the UK for medical treatment — called on BNP members to unite and prepare for leadership.
Zia, who was imprisoned on corruption charges in 2018 under Hasina’s government, was released after Hasina was ousted. In her speech, she accused Hasina’s regime of manipulating courts and civil institutions to tighten its grip on power. Zia also warned against conspiracies to reverse the gains made by last year’s uprising, urging her party and the people to stand together to protect democracy and restore law and order.
