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Zinda Hai Jamiat!

The victory of Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, is more than a political upset

By Atif Shamim Syed | November 2025


The political situation in Bangladesh was already tense and uncertain following Sheikh Hasina’s sudden exit. Amid this volatile situation, the student union election results from two major educational institutions - Dhaka University (DU) and Jahangirnagar University (JU) - landed like a bomb. In a stunning reversal of fortune, Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) - the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami - swept the elections. Its DU candidates secured 23 out of 28 central committee posts. While in JU, its candidates won 20 out of 25 posts. This is a remarkable achievement because only a few months ago, during Hasina’s tenure, the banned ICS could only operate underground.

ICS’ victory is not an isolated campus incident but a symptom of fundamental societal realignments nationwide. It is a stark referendum on Sheikh Hasina’s rule and a clear sign of the forces rushing to fill the vacuum she left behind.

Historically, Dhaka University has never been just an educational institution. It is the nation’s political barometer. Its campus was the epicenter of the language movement, the crucible of the six-point demand, and the heart that always cried rebellion. For decades, its student union (DUCSU) has been a microcosm of the national political landscape and a training ground for future leaders. Today, its reading is more critical than ever. This represents a major ideological turn, led by a generation that grew up under authoritarianism and is now embracing an opposing idea.

To understand the scale of ICS’ victory, we must first understand the landscape Sheikh Hasina’s government left behind. An unprecedented consolidation of power marked her tenure. Political space shrank in Bangladesh, with the opposition systematically tamed through a combination of mass arrests, legal challenges, and electoral boycotts. Elections were widely criticized for failing to meet democratic standards.

This widespread suppression of mainstream political opposition created a vast, arid plain where no democratic alternative to the Awami League could grow. But nature—and politics—abhor vacuums. In this void, the only organizations capable of surviving and operating were those with deeply entrenched, ideologically motivated grassroots structures and the ability to function underground and under pressure. The Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing, ICS, fit this description perfectly.

Simultaneously, the character of the Awami League’s own student wing, the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), underwent a radical transformation. Over the years, it morphed from a political force into an extension of state power. Its dominance on campus was not built on winning debates, but on sheer muscle, political patronage, and control over university resources. For the average student, the BCL was not a vehicle for their aspirations but an instrument of suppression—a daily reminder of a system that had grown intolerably arrogant.

In this context, ICS’s election triumph is not an endorsement of its ideology. It is a massive, collective protest vote against the perceived thuggery and entitlement of the BCL. In her effort to control politics and remove strong political rivals, Sheikh Hasina created a situation where religious hardliners became the main voice of opposition. The ICS election campaign narrowed the opposition’s appeal by convincing voters that the BNP’s student wing Jatiotabadi Chatradal (JCD) was no better than the BCL. This helped ICS attract more supporters within campuses.

The election results point towards profound patterns that are currently reshaping Bangladeshi politics. First, they reveal a deep disillusionment with mainstream politics among urban youth. The narrative of corruption and repression has driven them away from traditional political players. The ICS successfully harvested this frustration by presenting itself as a disciplined and morally upright alternative.

Second, an increasing number of Bangladeshi youth are leaning towards right-wing conservative politics, a trend visible across South Asia and beyond. The perception that religious parties are incorruptible and hold moral high ground has gained traction in an environment where secular parties are seen as self-serving, incompetent, and corrupt to the core.


Third, the results are a devastating blow to the nascent National Citizen Party (NCP), whose student wing performed poorly. While the NCP led public resistance against the government, the real organizational power to topple Hasina’s regime came from established parties like the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami. The NCP’s failure in this key campus battle reveals that it has no real base.

Fourth, the polls underscore a dangerous disconnection between youth voters and the BNP. While the BNP is a frontrunner in forming the next government, its brand is tarnished among the youth. Allegations of extortion and corruption against some of its members have successfully created a negative image, pushing students towards ICS, which they perceive as a more principled alternative.

Finally, ICS’s win indicates a tactical liberalization of their political approach. In a masterstroke of political pragmatism, they supported candidates from an indigenous, non-Muslim background and non-conservative women. This signals a move away from traditional hardline politics towards a more inclusive strategy designed to build a broader coalition and soften their image.

This period of transition is a golden opportunity for ICS and Jamaat. Their win grants them legitimacy, which they have been systematically denied for years.

For a political party that saw many of its senior leaders convicted for treason, this is a monumental moment. Winning democratic elections in the nation’s most prestigious universities allows them to shed their pariah status and rebrand as a legitimate, popular political player. They can now argue that their support is not a relic of the past but the voice of the future.

Furthermore, the post-Hasina political fragmentation works in their favor. The Awami League is facing a period of internal turmoil. The BNP, though revitalized by Hasina’s departure, is still weakened. In this scramble, a disciplined, ideologically coherent, and now electorally validated force like Jamaat can punch far above its weight. Its student wing’s victory is a powerful bargaining chip, demonstrating street-level strength crucial in the backroom bargaining that will define the new political order.

Beyond the immediate political calculus, the DUCSU and JUCSU results signal a profound shift in the ideological orientation of Bangladesh’s future elite. The students of these universities are the next generation of civil servants, journalists, business leaders, and politicians. Their political orientation matters for the character of the state itself.

ICS’s victory represents a direct challenge to Bangladesh’s secular foundational narrative. It suggests that for a growing number of young Bangladeshis, secular nationalism has lost its mobilizing power. The idea has been tarnished by its association with an increasingly authoritarian government. In its place, they are turning to an identity politics rooted in religion—a politics that offers a clear, disciplined, and alternative community.

The victory of Islami Chhatra Shibir in the post-Hasina student union polls is more than a political upset; it is a culmination of years of democratic backsliding, the failure of secular politics, and the unaddressed grievances of an entire generation. Sheikh Hasina’s departure did not create these forces, but it unlocked the cage containing them.

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