What the DUCSU Election Teaches Us in Bangladesh

Riaz Osmani

10 September 2025

Bangladesh just wrapped up its DUCSU election — and I dug into expert opinions to figure out why candidates backed by Islami Chhatra Shibir won big. Here’s what stood out:

1. Back around 2010–2011, under Sheikh Hasina’s government, the exam system was tweaked so that madrasa students could get into Dhaka University more easily.

2. Student groups linked to the Awami League (Chhatra League) and the BNP (Chhatra Dal) both have a history of hijacking campus spaces. Incidentally, Islami Chhatra Shibir—tied to Jamaat-e-Islami—does not.

3. Their opponents are deeply fragmented—with no unified platform or common stage to organize around.

4. Shibir’s advantage? Solid management and strong financial backing.

5. Their politics are oriented around student needs.

6. They’re great at reaching students in smooth, everyday language that connects.

7. Student voters rejected the politics of labeling or tagging people based on who’s “for” or “against” the Liberation War—a divisive tactic others still used.

So here’s the challenge: it is now up to the opponents of the right-wing Shibir to step up and learn from this. Stop simply opposing—start asking: what can we actually offer to campuses and country – because “don’t vote for razakaars (traitors)” just isn’t going to cut it anymore. Instead, let’s focus on what voters can expect from those opposing collaborator-linked forces.

There are two groups of people opposing Shibir: the left-leaning group and the centrist one. And I’d argue: now is the time for centrists in Bangladesh to rise.

Who are these centrists?

They are people who believe in equal dignity and social status for everyone, people who believe in equal laws and fair justice from the state, people who are peripherally religious—and believe in state-level, religious neutrality; people who reject any form of discrimination—whether it is religion, colour, gender, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation, gender identity or physical disability—and believe everyone mentioned above deserves equal rights and responsibilities.

They are supporters of free markets, private enterprise, global trade, and globalization—but also of progressive taxation so the government can help the people at the lower rungs of the economic ladder. They are people who don’t treat health and education as commodities, but see them as basic human rights, to be provided by the state. They are people who believe in moving forward—not getting stuck in endless debates about Bangladesh’s political history, historical figures, all past achievements and wounds, but to build a culture-rooted, AI-enabled society and state, incorporating all the ideals mentioned above.

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*DUCSU = Dhaka University Central Students’ Union.

*Islami Chhatra Shibir = The student wing of Bangladesh’s right-wing political party Jamaat-e-Islami, which historically opposed the Liberation War and sided with the Pakistani army; also follows the Maududi ideology.