Bangladesh: No stop to post-poll violence; several injured, house set ablaze

A fresh wave of unrest has swept across Bangladesh in the tense aftermath of the 13th parliamentary elections, leaving at least nine people injured and a house reduced to ashes, as incidents of post-poll violence were reported from five districts, according to local media.

In Natore’s Lalpur upazila, simmering rivalries within the victorious Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) spilled into open confrontation on Saturday night, when two factions of party workers clashed violently. At least six people were injured in the melee, The Daily Star quoted Lalpur Police Station officer-in-charge Md Mojibar Rahman as saying. Police arrested two suspects and recovered a firearm from the scene, registering a case in connection with the incident.

Elsewhere, political fault lines widened. In Sherpur district’s Sadar upazila, a BNP worker — Giasuddin Rasel, 35 — was allegedly attacked by members of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. Rasel had served as an election agent for BNP’s defeated Sherpur-1 candidate, Sansila Jebrin Priyanka.

In Feni’s Daganbhuyan upazila, tensions flared again as a Jamaat worker, Nurul Absar Belal, was allegedly assaulted by BNP activists at his residence in Dakkhin Bhabanipur village. He was first rushed to a local health complex and later shifted to Feni General Hospital, his family told the newspaper.

The violence extended beyond party workers. In Jamalpur’s Dewanganj upazila, journalist Shamsul Huda Ratan was injured while covering reports of post-election clashes at Mondol Bazar. Ratan alleged that Faruk Ahmed, a senior joint convener of the local Jubo Dal unit — the BNP’s youth wing — and his associates attacked him. “I am still ill. I will file a complaint,” he said.

In Khulna’s Phultala upazila, arson added a grim dimension to the unrest. A group of unidentified attackers allegedly set fire to the home of Jamaat supporter Shokor Akunji in Mashiali village on Saturday night. “We could not identify the attackers,” his son Abdur Razzak said, as the charred remains stood as stark testimony to the spreading volatility.

The latest violence comes against a troubling backdrop. Dhaka-based Human Rights Support Society (HRSS) reported that between October 2025 and 14 February, at least 10 people were killed and 2,503 injured in more than 700 election-related incidents nationwide. The watchdog documented 34 bullet injuries and widespread vandalism, looting and arson targeting over 500 houses, vehicles, businesses, election offices and polling centres.

With Tarique Rahman poised to lead the country following the BNP’s decisive victory, analysts caution that Bangladesh now confronts the formidable task of restoring calm and rebuilding public trust. The new leadership inherits a deeply polarised political landscape, strained further by 18 months of turbulence under the interim administration of Muhammad Yunus — a period critics say saw mounting unrest and rising Islamist extremism.

As the dust of the ballot settles, the greater challenge looms: steering the nation away from recrimination and towards reconciliation in a fragile post-election moment.

With IANS inputs