Bangladesh polls: Death row convicts with anti-India terror links win
What's the story
In a shocking turn of events, three candidates who were sentenced to death have emerged victorious in the recent Bangladesh national elections held on February 12. The winners include two members of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and one from Jamaat-e-Islami. The BNP members, Lutfozzaman Babar and Abdus Salam Pintu, had been sentenced to death for their involvement in the 2004 Dhaka grenade attack and connections to anti-India terror activities, including supporting Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI).
Election results
BNP leaders Babar and Pintu
Babar won the Netrokona-4 seat with over 160,000 votes. He was previously convicted for his role in the 2004 Dhaka grenade attack and the 2004 Chittagong arms smuggling case. However, he was acquitted by the Bangladesh High Court in January 2025, following Sheikh Hasina's ouster in July 2024. Pintu also won a seat in Tangail-2 with nearly 200,000 votes. He had been sentenced to death for his involvement in the same grenade attack as Babar and for supporting Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI).
Third winner
Jamaat-e-Islami's ATM Azharul Islam
The third winner is ATM Azharul Islam of Jamaat-e-Islami, who won the Rangpur-2 seat with around 139,000 votes. He was sentenced to death for war crimes committed during the 1971 Liberation War but was acquitted by Bangladesh's Supreme Court after Hasina's ouster. The return of these three individuals to public life highlights the dramatic political changes in Bangladesh since 2024.