Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman said that if voters elect his alliance, it will not allow the nation to be divided and will focus on building a forward-looking Bangladesh shaped by the aspirations of young people.
Addressing an election rally on Friday afternoon at the Lakshmipur Adarsha Samad Government High School ground, he said the alliance did not want to move backwards but envisioned a Bangladesh led by the energy and dreams of its youth.
He said young people would not be given unemployment allowances, arguing that such payments were not what they had demanded and would be demeaning. Instead, he pledged to develop their skills and ensure dignified employment, adding that leadership of the country should be handed to the younger generation.
He said 62% of candidates in the 11-party electoral alliance were young, signalling what he described as “a Bangladesh of the future led by youth”.
In an apparent reference to BNP, he accused rival activists of disrespecting women, saying early signs during the campaign indicated how a party might behave if elected.
He warned that past incidents of violence against female students had provoked strong public backlash and said similar actions would not be forgiven again.
Shafiqur Rahman said the country had experienced the “old political order” for decades, which he claimed had bred authoritarianism, eroded rights, entrenched corruption and subjected people to extortion and violence.
He said that brand of politics had harmed women’s dignity and must not return.
At the rally, he formally handed over election symbols to Jamaat-backed candidates in Laxmipur including Mahbub Alam for Laxmipur-1, Ruhul Amin Bhuiyan for Laxmipur-2, Rezaul Karim for Laxmipur-3, and Hafiz Ullah for Laxmipur-4.
The event, chaired by district Jamaat Ameer Ruhul Amin Bhuiyan, also featured speeches by ATM Masum, head of Jamaat’s election management committee; Atiqur Rahman, central committee secretary of the Workers’ Welfare Federation; Ducsu vice-president Shadik Kayem; Islami Chhatra Shibir international affairs editor Mutasim Billah Sahedi; Jucsu general secretary Mazharul Islam; and Cucsu general secretary Saeed bin Habib, among others.
The Jamaat Ameer took part in election campaigning across four districts on Friday, including Feni and Noakhali.
