Overview
- Islami Chhatra Shibir-backed slates won 23 of 28 seats at Dhaka University, including the top posts, and 20 of 25 seats at Jahangirnagar University.
- These were the first elections since the student-led uprising that ousted Sheikh Hasina in 2024, and parties are treating the results as an early barometer for the February 2026 vote.
- Bangladesh’s interim government lifted bans on Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing after saying it found no evidence of terrorist activity.
- Analysts note that campus outcomes do not automatically translate to national results, even as a SANEM youth survey shows roughly 22% of under-35s backing Jamaat and many still undecided.
- Indian commentators flag potential security and diplomatic risks from a Jamaat resurgence, while others urge calibrated engagement with Bangladesh’s shifting youth-driven politics.