Following sweeping wins by Islami Chhatra Shibir-backed panels in recent student union elections across multiple public universities, Jamaat-e-Islami expects “another miracle” in the 13th parliamentary polls scheduled for February next year.
“In the next election, another surge could take shape. We hope the momentum from the student union victories will carry into national politics,” the party’s Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher said on Friday.
He was speaking at a reception for newly elected Central Student Council representatives of 2025.
Chhatra Shibir organized the programme at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka.
The youth had rallied behind an ideological movement and the country’s 40 million young voters would continue to back forces committed to positive change, Taher said at the programme.
At the same programme, Jamaat Ameer Shafiqur Rahman said the youth, who dismantled the fascism that once took hold of the nation, would lead the new Bangladesh in the days ahead.
The country had witnessed decades of tainted student politics, where elected student leaders were often drawn into corruption, he said.
“The current student representatives must pass the test of integrity with a perfect score,” he said, adding that the nation would not tolerate even a single failure.
‘No more torture cells, drug abuse at universities’
Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher claimed that “torture cells” at universities have been shut down and drug abuse on campuses curbed, crediting recent electoral gains by Chhatra Shibir as evidence of a broader shift in student politics.
Taher said Chhatra Shibir had secured mandates from general students in four universities in a row, describing the victories as proof that the organisation represents the wider student community rather than a single faction.
“Chhatra Shibir has won the confidence of general students in four universities. This proves that Shibir is not just one organisation but a movement representing students across the country,” he said.
The Jamaat leader added that “torture cells”, allegedly used for intimidation and violence on campuses, had been shut down, while gatherings linked to drugs and alcohol had been eliminated.
He also quipped that the “thickness of the dal” had improved, a metaphor for better living and dining conditions for students.
Addressing student leaders, Taher invoked the spirit of the July uprising, which he said was driven by student sacrifices and widespread public support.
“Your struggle has driven fascism out even beyond our borders. But the struggle is not over,” he said, urging student representatives to take an active role in eradicating corruption.
