By Admin 
When votes were being cast for the general elections in Bangladesh on 12 February 2026, everyone’s eyes were on the three biggest parties there. Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) whose leader was Tariq Rahman. Jamaat-e-Islami whose chief was Shafiq-ur-Rehman and Jatiya Nagrik Party whose chief was Naheed Islam.
However, when the results came on the evening of 13th February, it was revealed that Nahid Islam and his Gen-Z comrades, who led the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh and brought about elections, were limited to only 6 seats in this election and Tariq Rahman, who was out of Bangladesh for the last 18 years, after returning in the environment created by Gen-Z, not only emerged as the largest party, but also became the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
After all, the Gen-Z which overthrew Sheikh Hasina through revolution on the streets of Bangladesh and forced her to leave the country, why did the people of Bangladesh not vote for them? After all, why did about 12 crore people of Bangladesh have more trust in a leader who was not in Bangladesh for 18 years than Gen-Z? After all, why all the hard work of Gen-Z, the entire revolution, their shed blood did not work for their leaders and why only Tariq Rehman got the full benefit of it.
There are at least five big reasons for the crushing defeat of Gen-Z in Bangladesh and the victory of Bangladesh Nationalist Party under the leadership of Tariq Rahman, which the youth thinking of revolutionizing any country in the future will definitely examine and only then will they take to the streets.
1. Crisis of trust
Call it Jatiya Nagrik Party or National Citizen Party, the biggest crisis faced by its candidates in the Bangladesh elections was the crisis of trust. Gen-Z took to the streets and overthrew Sheikh Hasina, but Gen-Z leaders did not have any roadmap as to how the country would be run after that. There was doubt in the minds of voters whether the young student leaders were ready to run the government and handle complex economic and political challenges. Of Bangladesh’s population of 12 crore, about 4 crore were youth, but they too could not trust the leaders of their age and chose the same leaders their ancestors had chosen.
2. Lack of ideology
The Jatiya Nagrik Party also lacked ideology in this election. When Gen-Z, who became leaders through revolution, opposed Sheikh Hasina and removed her from power, the people of Bangladesh welcomed them. However, just before the elections, the Jatiya Nagrik Party entered into an agreement with a fundamentalist organization like Jamaat-e-Islami to contest the elections. Along with this, candidates were also fielded and only 32 seats were contested in the entire country. Because of this, it was decided in the minds of the youth of Bangladesh that voting for the Jatiya Nagrik Party directly means voting for the Jamaat. In such a situation, the liberal, progressive youth and urban voters became angry, which led to a split within the party. Seeing the lack of ideology, the youth of Bangladesh chose another path.
3. Cruelty done to history
The elders of Bangladesh could not forget the cruelty that Gen-Z had done to the history of Bangladesh during Sheikh Hasina’s coup before the elections. Be it breaking the effigy of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman or looting the Prime Minister’s residence or creating chaos on the streets even after Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh, the progressive people of Bangladesh never liked this.
4. Lack of time
When Gen-Z took to the streets to overthrow Sheikh Hasina, it also got the support of the common people of Bangladesh. Even when Mohammad Yunus became the interim Prime Minister and some Gen-Z joined that government, people got support. However, just before the elections, when Gen-Z formed their party and got ready to contest the elections, it became ingrained in the minds of people that the purpose of Gen-Z’s revolution is to capture power in Bangladesh. This party, formed on 28 February 2025, got less than a year to prepare to contest the elections. Therefore, neither could they have a cadre nor could they reach the rural areas of Bangladesh. As a result, they were reduced to 6 seats.
5. Impact of BNP
The biggest reason for Gen-Z’s defeat was the pan-Bangladesh influence of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which had not diminished even in the absence of Tariq Rahman. Tariq Rahman’s mother Khaleda Zia was the Prime Minister of Bangladesh for a long time. She was the President of BNP from 1984 till her death in December 2025. His death just a few days before the elections also made the people of Bangladesh sympathize with the BNP. The remaining work was completed by Tariq Rahman’s promises regarding the creation of a new Bangladesh, which turned the tables.