A new political party formed by the students who led the movement that ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recently held a rally in Dhaka, pledging to build a “new Bangladesh” amid ongoing political uncertainty ahead of the next election.
The National Citizen Party (NCP), Bangladesh’s first student-led political party, was officially launched in February 2025. Nahid Islam, a prominent leader from the 2024 protests and former adviser in the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, heads the party. At a rally attended by about 1,000 supporters at the Shaheed Minar national monument, Nahid Islam outlined a 24-point agenda aimed at creating a “second republic” by drafting a new democratic constitution to replace the one adopted in 1972 after Bangladesh’s independence.
Islam declared that the party seeks to end historical political divisions that have polarized the country and instead focus on issues like equality, healthcare, education, and anti-corruption. The NCP wants to reconstruct Bangladesh’s political landscape by prioritizing citizens’ interests and eliminating the influence of divisive ideologies.
Separately, supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) student wing also rallied in Dhaka. Tarique Rahman, BNP’s acting chairman in exile, joined via video and urged young voters to back the party in the upcoming elections.
These rallies occur as Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Yunus, marks the anniversary of Hasina’s ouster on August 5, 2024, when she fled to India after mass protests ended her 15-year rule. The country remains politically fractured, with unresolved tensions about election timing and concerns about stable democratic governance going forward
