Bangladesh: Shifting political tides and emergence of new political forces

As Bangladesh approaches national elections scheduled for February 12, 2026, the country finds itself teetering on the edge of renewed chaos. The killing of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi on December 19, 2025, has once again ignited violent unrest, exposing deep fissures in the nation’s political fabric. Attacks on media outlets and cultural sites, and the lynching of a Hindu worker by a mob which accused him of blasphemy underscore a worrying drift toward mob rule and extremism, threaten to derail the fragile democratic transition and leave onlookers wondering whether the interim government can still control the situation.