‘Pranto Das Gupta, a 22-year-old from Bangladesh’s minority Hindu community, is preparing to cast his first vote in the upcoming national elections. Living in Dhaka, around 300 km from his ancestral village in Satkania, Chattogram, Mr. Gupta plans to travel home to vote with his family on February 12, as the country heads into its first election since the dramatic fall of Sheikh Hasina in an uprising in August 2024.
For the first-time voter, the lofty promises in party manifestos from trillion-dollar economies to constitutional reform ring hollow against the lived reality of arson, vandalism and intimidation.
“We don’t want clashes. We don’t want promises. All we ask for is safety,” Mr. Gupta said. “People in my village will go to the polling centres and vote for whoever they think can ensure their safety.”
Pre-election violence shadows Bangladesh’s polls as 127 million prepare to vote
This plea for basic security has emerged as the overwhelming, non-partisan demand of religious minorities, who make up roughly 10% of the population, as campaign rallies intensify and polling day draws closer.
