Hours before polling, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Wednesday (February 11, 2026) accused the largest Islamist Party Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) of attempting to sabotage the election process by using money power.
The accusation was made after a JeI leader was caught with nearly Taka 74 lakh in Saidpur airport in north Bangladesh amid social media reports that several such Jamaat leaders have been recorded distributing cash among voters.
JeI has countered the accusation and said the incident was a “staged drama” by law enforcement agencies.
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“At a time when all banks, financial institutions, business transactions and activities are closed to prevent illegal financial dealings in the election, naturally, questions are arising everywhere – from what source did the top leader of Jamaat in one district obtain this vast amount of money, for what purpose, to whom was it intended for, and why was he travelling from Dhaka to Thakurgaon on the eve of election,” said Mahdi Amin, spokesperson of the BNP’s Election Steering Committee alleging that there have been reports of Jamaat leaders distributing cash in multiple other constituencies including Dhaka-15 where JeI’s Ameer Shafiqur Rahman is contesting election.
