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List of political parties in Bangladesh

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article lists political parties in People's Republic of Bangladesh.

Since the restoration of parliamentary democracy in 1991, Bangladesh has a fading two-party system, which means that two political parties dominate the general elections centrist Awami League (AL) and centre-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), with extreme difficulty for anybody to achieve electoral success under the banner of another party.

Although the AL and BNP dominated Bangladeshi politics for a long time, the two are currently leading coalitions of like-minded parties, with the AL leading the left-of-centre parties and the BNP rallying the right-of-centre parties.[1]

A party is recognised as a registered party only if it fulfils one of the conditions listed below:[2]

  1. A party needs to secure at least one seat with its electoral symbol in two previous parliamentary elections.
  2. Securing of five percent of total votes cast in the constituencies in which its candidates took part in any of the aforesaid parliamentary elections.
  3. It needs to set up a functional central office, by whatever name it may be called with a central committee, having offices at least in one-third administrative districts, and offices at least in 100 upazilas or metropolitan thanas. And the party must have a minimum 200 voters as its members in each upazila.

Parties in the parliament prior to dissolution

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These were all of the political parties that held at least one seat in the Jatiya Sangsad. The 12th Jatiya Sangsad was dissolved on 6 August 2024. This is the state prior to the dissolution.

Symbol or flag Name Founded Ideology Leader MPs Political
position
Affiliation Local government
Municipalities Cities Villages
বাংলাদেশ আওয়ামী লীগের পতাকা Bangladesh Awami League
বাংলাদেশ আওয়ামী লীগ
Bangladesh People's League
1949 Sheikh Hasina
271 / 350
Debated[a] GA
136 / 330
10 / 12
2,187 / 4,562
Jatiya Party-JaPa flag Jatiya Party (Ershad)
জাতীয় পার্টি
National Party (Ershad)
1986 GM Quader
13 / 350
Right-wing
1 / 330
1 / 12
16 / 4,562
Workers Party of Bangladesh
বাংলাদেশের ওয়ার্কার্স পার্টি
1980 Communism
Marxism–Leninism
Rashed Khan Menon
1 / 350
Far-left GA
0 / 330
0 / 12
2 / 4,562
জাসদের পতাকা Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal
জাতীয় সমাজতান্ত্রিক দল
National Socialist Party
1972 Socialism Hasanul Haq Inu
1 / 350
Left-wing GA
1 / 330
0 / 12
2 / 4,562
Logo of Kalayan Party Bangladesh Kalyan Party
বাংলাদেশ কল্যাণ পার্টি
Bangladesh Welfare Party
2007 Welfarism
Bangladeshi nationalism
Islamic democracy
Syed Muhammad Ibrahim
1 / 350
Radical centre
0 / 330
0 / 12
0 / 4,562
Flag of Ganatantri Party Ganatantri Party
গণতন্ত্রী পার্টি
Democratic Party
1957 Socialism Arosh Ali
1 / 350
Left-wing
0 / 330
0 / 12
0 / 4,562
Independent Disc Independents
স্বতন্ত্র
62 / 350
0 / 330
1 / 12
1,562 / 4,562

Alliances

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Grand Alliance

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The Grand Alliance (মহাজোট) is a coalition government in Bangladesh that formed in 2008 and consisted of the Bangladesh Awami League, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Workers Party and three other parties.

The Liberal Democratic Party left the Grand Alliance before the election and contested independently. It joined the 18 Party Alliance in 2012.

Left Democratic Alliance

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The Left Democratic Alliance is an alliance of 8 Leftist Political parties including Communist Party of Bangladesh, Socialist Party of Bangladesh, Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh, United Communist League Of Bangladesh, Ganatantrik Biplobi Party, Bam Gonotantrik Andolon and Ganosamhati Andolan.[6]

Major parties

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Since 1991, due to the two-party system, two major parties, Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party constantly dominate the politics and form government.

Awami League

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Bangladesh Nationalist Party

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The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, abbreviated as BNP, was founded on 1 September 1978 by Bangladeshi President Ziaur Rahman, politician and physician A. Q. M. Badruddoza Chowdhury, human rights activist and lawyer Moudud Ahmed and leftist politician Mashiur Rahman as the key people. BNP has won the second, fifth, sixth and eighth national elections and two presidential elections, in 1978 and 1981 respectively. The party also holds the record of being the largest opposition in the history of parliamentary elections of the country with 116 seats in the seventh national election of 1996.[7] The party does not have any representation in the parliament after its boycott of the national election of 2014 which the party had termed a scandalous farce and was marked by a very low turnout.[8]

Registered parties

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These are all the parties that are currently registered under Election Commission.[9]

Name Founded Ideology Leader Political position Most MP's
AL Bangladesh Awami League
বাংলাদেশ আওয়ামী লীগ
1949 Sheikh Hasina Centre to centre-left 306 (2020)
BNP Bangladesh Nationalist Party
বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল
1978 Khaleda Zia Centre-right 278

(1996)

JP-E Jatiya Party (Ershad)
জাতীয় পার্টি (এরশাদ)
1986 GM Quader Centre-right 251 (1988)
CPB Communist Party of Bangladesh
বাংলাদেশের কমিউনিস্ট পার্টি
1968 Shah Alam Far-left 5 (1991)
SPB Socialist Party of Bangladesh
বাংলাদেশের সমাজতান্ত্রিক দল
1980 Comrade Bazlur Rashid Firoz Left 0
WPB Workers Party of Bangladesh
বাংলাদেশের ওয়ার্কার্স পার্টি
1980 Rashed Khan Menon Far-left 6 (2014)
JASAD Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal
জাতীয় সমাজতান্ত্রিক দল
1972 Socialism Hasanul Haque Inu Left-wing 8 (1979)
BDB Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh
বিকল্পধারা বাংলাদেশ
2004 A. Q. M. Badruddoza Chowdhury Centre 2 (2018)
GF Gano Forum
গণফোরাম
1992 Secularism Kamal Hossain Centre 2 (2018)
JP-M Jatiya Party (Manju)
জাতীয় পার্টি (মঞ্জু)
2014 Anwar Hossain Manju Centre-right 2 (2014)
BTF Bangladesh Tarikat Federation
বাংলাদেশ তরিকত ফেডারেশন
2005 Syed Najibul Bashar Maizbhandari Right-wing 2 (2014)
LDP Liberal Democratic Party
লিবারেল ডেমোক্রেটিক পার্টি
2006 Economic Liberalisation Oli Ahmed Centre 1 (2008)
BSD-ML Bangladesh Samyabadi Dal
বাংলাদেশের সাম্যবাদী দল
Dilip Barua Left to Far-left 0
KSJL Krishak Sramik Janata League
কৃষক শ্রমিক জনতা লীগ
1999 Bangabir Kader Siddique Centre left 1 (2001)
GP Ganatantri Party
গণতন্ত্রী পার্টি
Secularism Md Arash Ali 1 (2024)
NAP National Awami Party
ন্যাশনাল আওয়ামী পার্টি
1967 Socialism Amina Ahmed 1 (1979, 1991)
JSD Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal
জাতীয় সমাজতান্ত্রিক দল
2002 Socialism A.S.M Abdur Rab Left 4 (1986)
ZP Zaker Party
জাকের পার্টি
Khaja Babaism Mustafa Amir Faisal Right wing 0
BJP Bangladesh Jatiya Party
বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় পার্টি
2001 Nationalism Barrister Andaleeve Rahman Partho Centre 4 (2001)
BKF Khilafat Andolan
বাংলাদেশ খেলাফত আন্দোলন
1981 Islamic democracy Mawlana Ataullah Right 0
BML Bangladesh Muslim League
বাংলাদেশ মুসলিম লীগ
1906 Muslim nationalism Jubeda Kader Chaudhuri 20 (1979)
NPP National People's Party
ন্যাশনাল পিপলস্‌ পার্টি
Sheikh Salauddin Salu 0
JUI Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh
জমিয়তে উলামায়ে ইসলাম বাংলাদেশ
Islamic democracy Sheikh Zia Uddin 0
GF Gano Front
গণফ্রন্ট
1995 Secularism Jakir Hossain Left wing 0
BDNAP Bangladesh National Awami Party
বাংলাদেশ ন্যাশনাল আওয়ামী পার্টি
1971 Socialism Jobel Rahman Gani 0
BJP Bangladesh Jatiya Party
বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় পার্টি
M. A. Mukit 0
IFB Islamic Front Bangladesh
ইসলামিক ফ্রন্ট বাংলাদেশ
Mujaddedism Bahadur Shah Mujaddedi 0
BKP Bangladesh Kallyan Party
বাংলাদেশ কল্যাণ পার্টি
Sayad Muhammad Ibrahim 1 (2024)
IOJ Islami Oikya Jote
ইসলামী ঐক্যজোট
Islamic democracy Abul Hasnat Amini 2 (2001)
BKM Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish
বাংলাদেশ খেলাফত মজলিস
1989 Islamic democracy Habibur Rahman 0
IAB Islami Andolan Bangladesh
ইসলামী আন্দোলন বাংলাদেশ
1987 Syed Rezaul Karim 0
BIF Bangladesh Islami Front
বাংলাদেশ ইসলামী ফ্রন্ট
1990 Sunni Sufism M.A. Matin 0
BBWP Bangladesher Biplobi Workers Party
বাংলাদেশের বিপ্লবী ওয়ার্কার্স পার্টি
2004 Saiful Haq 0
KM Khelafat Majlish
খেলাফত মজলিস
1989 Islamic democracy Mawlana Mohammad Ishaq 0
BML Bangladesh Muslim League
বাংলাদেশ মুসলিম লীগ
Muslim nationalism A.H.M. Kamruzzaman 20 (1979)
BSM Bangladesh Sanskritik Muktijot
বাংলাদেশ সাংস্কৃতিক মুক্তিজোট
Secularism Abdur Razzak Mullah 0
BNF Bangladesh Nationalist Front
বাংলাদেশ ন্যাশনালিস্ট ফ্রন্ট
2012 Secularism M.A. Abul Kalam Azad 1 (2014)
NDM Jatiotabadi Ganatantric Andolon
জাতীয়তাবাদী গণতান্ত্রিক আন্দোলন
2017 Bobby Hajjaj 0
BC Bangladesh Congress
বাংলাদেশ কংগ্রেস
2013 Secularism Kazi Rezaul Hossen 0
Grassroots BNP Grassroots Bangladesh Nationalist Party
তৃণমূল বিএনপি
2015 Secularism Nazmul Huda 0
Insaniyat Humanity Revolution Bangladesh
ইনসানিয়াত বিপ্লব বাংলাদেশ[10][11]
2010 Humanitarian Allama Imam Hayat 0
BNM Bangladesh Nationalist Movement
বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী আন্দোলন
2023 Bangladeshi nationalism Abdur Rahman Center to Centre-right 0
BSP Bangladesh Supreme Party
বাংলাদেশ সুপ্রিম পার্টি
2023 Sufism (Maizbhandarism) Sayed Saifuddin Ahmed Right-wing 0

Regional parties

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Name Founded Ideology Leader Political position
PCJSS Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti
পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম জনসংহতি সমিতি
1972 Autonomy of the indigenous tribes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Shantu Larma Left-wing
UPDF United People's Democratic Front
ইউনাইটেড পিপলস ডেমোক্রেটিক ফ্রন্ট
1998 Autonomy of the indigenous tribes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Prasit Bikash Khisa Left-wing

Outlawed parties

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Name Founded Ideology Leader Political position Legal status Note
Maoist Bolshevik Reorganization Movement of the Purba Bangla Sarbahara Party 2001 Communism Maoism Far-left Outlawed [12] [13]
Purba Banglar Sarbahara Party 1971 Communism Maoism Anwar Kabir Far-left Banned [14]
Purba Banglar Communist Party 1968 Communism Maoism Tipu Biswas Far-left Banned [15]
Kuki-Chin National Front 2008 Autonomy of Kuki-Chin people Nathan Bom Banned [16][17]
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami 1975 Islamism Shafiqur Rahman Far-right Banned [b] [18][19]

Unregistered parties

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The Awami League has been accused of far-right authoritarianism since 2021.[3][4][5]
  2. ^ In practice the ban has very little effect. Jamaat-e-Islami actively takes part in regular political activities.
  1. ^ "Jatiya Party to contest the national polls with grand alliance | News Flash".
  2. ^ কমিশনে রাজনৈতিক দলসমূহের নিবন্ধন আইন, ২০২০ [Commission Political Party Registration Act 2020] (PDF). Election Commission of Bangladesh (in Bengali). 30 June 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  3. ^ Hossain, Akram; Mahmudul, Haque (19 October 2021). Survival Strategies of Jamaat as a Religion-Based Political Opponent in Bangladesh. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 105–123. doi:10.1007/978-981-16-4314-9_7. ISBN 978-981-16-4314-9. S2CID 239951371.
  4. ^ Khan, Q. M. Jalal (25 June 2021). President Ziaur Rahman: Legendary Leader of Bangladesh. Writers Republic LLC. ISBN 9781637285749.
  5. ^ Ruud, Arild; Hasan, Mubashar (18 October 2021). Masks of Authoritarianism Hegemony, Power and Public Life in Bangladesh. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore. p. 112. ISBN 9789811643149.
  6. ^ "Leftist parties form new Left Democratic Alliance as general election nears". bdnews24.com. 19 July 2018.
  7. ^ "Bangladesh Election Results". Bangladesh Election Commission. 10 April 2008.
  8. ^ "Bangladesh's ruling Awami League wins boycotted poll". BBC News. 6 January 2014.
  9. ^ "Bangladesh Election Commission".
  10. ^ "Insaniyat Biplab Bangladesh now EC-registered party". The Daily Star. 9 May 2023.
  11. ^ "New political party Humanity Revolution, Bangladesh registered by EC". Dhaka Tribune. 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  12. ^ Correspondent, Staff (2018-04-19). "5 killed in series of 'gunfights'". Prothomalo. Retrieved 2024-08-20. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  13. ^ Report, Star Online (2015-11-05). "3 killed in separate 'gunfights'". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  14. ^ "Regional Information Base on Terrorism :: Terrorism news, Chronology, Organization Profiles". web.archive.org. 2012-02-22. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  15. ^ "Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP) Terrorist Group, Bangladesh". www.satp.org. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  16. ^ "Who are these Kuki-Chin armies in the CHT?". web.archive.org. 2023-04-10. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  17. ^ "In Chattogram Hill Tracts, a new group of armed insurgents is making waves. Who are they?". web.archive.org. 2024-05-02. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  18. ^ PTI (2024-08-01). "Bangladesh bans Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir under anti-terrorism law". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  19. ^ প্রতিনিধি, বিশেষ (2024-08-20). "নিষিদ্ধের আদেশ প্রত্যাহারের চেষ্টায় জামায়াত". Prothomalo (in Bengali). Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  20. ^ "নতুন দল বাংলাদেশের সাম্যবাদী আন্দোলনের আত্মপ্রকাশ (English: Public Appearance of New Party Communist Movement of Bangladesh)". Bangla News 24. 3 April 2021.

References

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