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Dhaka, Bangladesh – The fast-paced, rhythm-driven song’s lyrics could travel crossed arsenic commentary astir beingness successful agrarian Bangladesh.
“The days of boat, the sheaf of paddy and the plough person ended; the scales volition present physique Bangladesh”, the words go.
In reality, though, the opus is simply a governmental anthem supportive of Bangladesh’s Jamaat-e-Islami enactment that went viral connected Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok successful aboriginal November.
It speaks of the symbols of parties that person governed Bangladesh that it argues Bangladeshis present privation to reject: The vessel is the awesome of the Awami League (AL) of erstwhile Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted by a student-led uprising successful August 2024; the sheaf of paddy is the awesome of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP); and the plough, the predetermination awesome of the Jatiya Party, a erstwhile state of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League, founded by a subject ruler successful the 1980s.
The Jamaat’s awesome is scales.
On February 12, the state is scheduled to ballot successful what is shaping up to beryllium a nonstop contention betwixt the BNP and a Jamaat-led alliance. On-the-ground campaigning starts connected Thursday, January 22. But online, parties person been battling it retired for months, trying to pull Gen Z voters who played a cardinal relation successful overthrowing Hasina, and present could play a pivotal relation successful determining who forms the adjacent government.
The pro-Jamaat song’s online popularity, for instance, sparked a frenzied contention among parties to motorboat songs successful an predetermination clime erstwhile wide rallies are nary longer the lone mode to scope millions of voters: Social media is often arsenic almighty a tool.
HAL Banna, a London-based filmmaker who composed and sang the pro-Jamaat song, told Al Jazeera it was initially produced for a azygous campaigner successful Dhaka. “When radical started sharing it, different candidates realised it connected with mean voters and began utilizing it,” helium said.
The BNP came up with its run song, its lyrics suggesting that the enactment – lone marginally up of the Jamaat successful sentiment polls – puts the state earlier itself. “Amar agey amra, amader agey desh; khomotar agey jonota, shobar agey Bangladesh [Us earlier ourselves, the state earlier us; radical earlier power, Bangladesh supra all],” the opus says.
The National Citizen Party, formed by students astatine the forefront of the anti-Hasina protests successful 2024, besides came up with its opus that went viral.
But euphony has been lone 1 portion of a wider integer push.
Short, dramatised videos, affectional elector interviews, argumentation explainers and satire person besides flooded societal media.
This year, the online warfare is bigger than a parliamentary contention alone.
On February 12, voters volition besides determine connected a referendum connected the July National Charter, a betterment bundle the interim authorities led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus says indispensable beryllium endorsed to institutionalise changes successful the authorities institutions introduced aft the 2024 July uprising.
Why online matters
According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, Bangladesh had astir 130 cardinal net users arsenic of November 2025, accounting for astir 74 percent of its estimated 176 cardinal population.
According to a study released successful precocious 2025 by DataReportal, a planetary integer probe and analytics level report, the state has astir 64 cardinal Facebook users, astir 50 cardinal YouTube users, 9.15 cardinal Instagram users and much than 56 cardinal TikTok users aged 18 and above. X, by contrast, has a comparatively tiny footprint with astir 1.79 cardinal users.
That integer reach, accidental analysts, helps explicate wherefore governmental parties are investing heavy successful online narratives.
Election Commission information amusement that 43.56 percent of voters are aged betwixt 18 and 37, galore of them first-time voters oregon young Bangladeshis who efficaciously felt disenfranchised nether Hasina. National elections successful 2013, 2018 and 2024 were marred with irregularities, crackdowns connected absorption leaders and activists, and boycotts that turned them into sham votes. That acquisition has turned vexation into determination to enactment successful the upcoming vote, accidental analysts.
Digital strategies
Bangladeshi authorities person banned the Awami League from governmental activities, including information successful the February elections.
That has turned the elections into a bipolar competition.
On 1 broadside is simply a BNP-led alliance, which presents itself arsenic the experienced governing alternate to the Awami League’s excesses – Hasina’s authorities was accused of wide killings, forced disappearances and corruption. The BNP ruled Bangladesh betwixt 1991 and 1996, and past again betwixt 2001 and 2006.
On the different broadside is simply a Jamaat-led alliance, which includes the NCP.
Mahdi Amin, a BNP leader, told Al Jazeera that the enactment is focusing connected distributing argumentation proposals and collecting elector feedback. “BNP remains a governmental enactment with a way grounds of governing the country. We person circumstantial plans successful each sector,” helium said.
To thrust online engagement, the BNP has launched websites specified arsenic MatchMyPolicy.com, wherever voters tin registry statement oregon disagreement with argumentation proposals the enactment says it would instrumentality if elected.
Like the BNP, the Jamaat-e-Islami has besides launched a website – janatarishtehar.org – that it has said is aimed successful portion astatine seeking the sentiment of voters to hole the party’s predetermination manifesto.
Jubaer Ahmed, a Jamaat leader, said that the party’s online efforts were focused connected sharing “the narratives we judge in”. Asked astir different parties and their efforts, Ahmed said: “We observe others, but we don’t follow. Our contention volition beryllium intellectual.”
Is anyone winning the online battle?
Analysts caution against declaring a wide victor.
Mubashar Hasan, an adjunct chap astatine Western Sydney University’s Humanitarian and Development Research Initiative, pointed to seemingly antithetic areas of absorption successful the 2 campaigns’ strategies.
Hasan said BNP’s online contented often packages its cardinal pledges into short, captioned videos and shareable cards. For instance, immoderate posts beforehand a projected “Family Card” strategy nether which 5 cardinal women and households would person 2,000–2,500 taka ($16-20) a period oregon indispensable goods if the BNP is elected. Other clips and graphics speech of a “Farmer Card” plan, promising just prices for fertilisers, seeds and pesticides, positive incentives, easier loans and security sum for farmers.
On the different hand, helium argued, pro-Jamaat online contented often focuses connected attacking the BNP arsenic “no different” to the Awami League.
Qadaruddin Shishir, exertion of the fact-check outlet The Dissent, said that Jamaat-aligned online campaigns besides question to pat into anti-India messaging: Hasina is successful exile successful India aft fleeing successful August 2024, and New Delhi has refused to nonstop her backmost contempt aggregate requests from Dhaka.
“These themes progressively circulate beyond Jamaat’s base, including among young users, done memes and copied formats,” helium said.
Referendum goes viral, too
This year, the online conflict is not constricted to party-versus-party competition. It besides centres connected a state-backed referendum connected a acceptable of broad-based reforms outlined successful what has travel to beryllium known arsenic the July Charter – named aft the uprising that led to Hasina’s removal.
Bangladesh’s interim authorities has launched a integer run successful favour of a ‘Yes’ vote, utilizing authoritative websites and societal media platforms. Interim person Yunus’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam told Al Jazeera the strategy reflects a media scenery wherever accepted outlets person steadily mislaid reach.
“Legacy media is being utilized little and less,” Alam said, adding that online campaigning was indispensable to unafraid nationalist support to institutionalise the reforms.
The charter proposes limits connected premier ministerial power, stronger checks connected information forces, and safeguards to forestall predetermination manipulation. It besides calls for judicial independency and law reforms aimed astatine stopping the instrumentality of authoritarian rule.
The NCP, which emerged from the July uprising, has besides campaigned online for a ‘Yes’ ballot successful the referendum.
To beryllium sure, said analysts and contented creators, offline campaigning remains critical. HAL Banna, composer of the pro-Jamaat opus that acceptable disconnected the inclination of viral run songs online this predetermination season, said carnal campaigning inactive has nary lucifer erstwhile it comes to “reach and impact”.
But, helium said, “online campaigns acceptable treatment topics among radical offline”. With an electorate arsenic young arsenic Bangladesh’s, that tin beryllium the quality betwixt winning and losing.
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