Four Islamic parties to enter parliament for the first time

Four Islamic parties have secured a total of 72 seats in Bangladesh's 13th national election, marking the first time since 1973 that multiple faith-based parties will enter parliament.

While the BNP, led by Tarique Rahman, won a commanding majority to form the government, three smaller Islamic parties joined heavyweight Jamaat-e-Islami in gaining representation.

Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis (Rickshaw) secured two constituencies, while Islami Andolan Bangladesh and Khelafat Majlis (Wall clock) won one each. Both Khelafat Majlis' are under the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance.

Jamaat emerged as the second-largest bloc in parliament, winning 68 seats. The BNP captured 209 of the 297 seats contested, while the newly formed National Citizen Party (NCP), born out of the July-August 2024 uprising, entered parliament for the first time with six seats.

Between 1973 and 2024, no Islamic party other than Jamaat had secured a parliamentary seat in post-independence elections. Jamaat's earlier electoral successes included 18 seats in 2001 and two in 2008, largely through alliances with the BNP. 

Other groups such as Bangladesh Tarikat Federation and Islami Oikya Jote had failed to register a single victory in over five decades.

Breakthrough for Khelafat Majlis

Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, contesting under the "Rickshaw" symbol, secured two constituencies – Mymensingh-2 and Madaripur-1 – according to party sources.

In Madaripur-1, its nominated candidate under the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance, Maulana Syed Uddin Ahmad Hanzala, won by a substantial margin.

In Mymensingh-2, Maulana Muhammad Ullah secured 146,202 votes, defeating BNP candidate Motahar Hossain Talukder, who polled 118,438 votes.

Separately, Khelafat Majlis, contesting under the "Wall clock" symbol and also aligned with the 11-party bloc, won the Sylhet-5 seat, where Mufti Abul Hasan was declared elected.

Islami Andolan secures just one seat

Islami Andolan Bangladesh, which fielded candidates nationwide under the "Hand fan" symbol, managed to secure a single seat.

Its candidate Md Oli Ullah won from Barguna-1 with 140,291 votes, narrowly defeating BNP contender Md Nazrul Islam Mollah, who received 136,145 votes. In the same constituency, Khelafat Majlis candidate Md Jahangir Hossain polled 6,232 votes.

The party, however, finished as runner-up in several other constituencies.

In Patuakhali-1, BNP candidate Altaf Hossain Chowdhury won with 152,087 votes, while Islami Andolan's candidate secured 58,161 votes.

In Patuakhali-3, Islami Andolan's Abu Bakkar Siddique received 38,188 votes. The seat was won by Nurul Haque Nur of the Gono Odhikar Parishad.

In Patuakhali-4, candidate Mostafizur Rahman polled 70,127 votes, finishing behind BNP's ABM Mosharraf Hossain, who won with 124,013 votes.

In Bhola-1, Islami Andolan's Obaidur Rahman placed third with 25,345 votes. The seat was won by Andaleeve Rahman of the Bangladesh Jatiya Party, who secured 105,543 votes.

In Barishal-5, Islami Andolan's Mufti Syed Md Fayzul Karim received 95,044 votes, finishing second to BNP candidate Mujibur Rahman Sarwar, who won with 135,146 votes.

In total, 2,090 candidates from 51 political parties contested the 13th national election, alongside 478 independent contenders across the country.