This article lists political parties in People's Republic of Bangladesh.
Since the restoration of parliamentary democracy in 1991, Bangladesh has a fading two-party system, which means that two political parties dominate the general elections centrist Awami League (AL) and centre-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), with extreme difficulty for anybody to achieve electoral success under the banner of another party.
Although the AL and BNP dominated Bangladeshi politics for a long time, the two are currently leading coalitions of like-minded parties, with the AL leading the left-of-centre parties and the BNP rallying the right-of-centre parties.[1]
These were all of the political parties that held at least one seat in the Jatiya Sangsad. The 12th Jatiya Sangsad was dissolved on 6 August 2024. This is the state prior to the dissolution.
| Symbol or flag | Name | Founded | Ideology | Leader | MPs | Political position | Affiliation | Local government | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Municipalities | Cities | Villages | |||||||||||
| Bangladesh Awami League Bengali: বাংলাদেশ আওয়ামী লীগ Bangladesh People's League | 1949 | Sheikh Hasina | Debated | GA | |||||||||
| Jatiya Party (Ershad) Bengali: জাতীয় পার্টি National Party (Ershad) | 1986 | GM Quader | |||||||||||
| Workers Party of Bangladesh Bengali: বাংলাদেশের ওয়ার্কার্স পার্টি | 1980 | Communism Marxism–Leninism | Rashed Khan Menon | Far-left | GA | ||||||||
| Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal Bengali: জাতীয় সমাজতান্ত্রিক দল National Socialist Party | 1972 | Socialism | Hasanul Haq Inu | Left-wing | GA | ||||||||
| Bangladesh Kalyan Party বাংলাদেশ কল্যাণ পার্টি Bangladesh Welfare Party | 2007 | Welfarism Bangladeshi nationalism Islamic democracy | Syed Muhammad Ibrahim | Radical centre | |||||||||
| Ganatantri Party গণতন্ত্রী পার্টি Democratic Party | 1957 | Socialism | Arosh Ali | Left-wing | |||||||||
| Independents Bengali: স্বতন্ত্র | |||||||||||||
See main article: Grand Alliance (Bangladesh). The Grand Alliance (মহাজোট) is a coalition government in Bangladesh that formed in 2008 and consisted of the Bangladesh Awami League, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Workers Party and three other parties.
The Liberal Democratic Party left the Grand Alliance before the election and contested independently. It joined the 18 Party Alliance in 2012.
The Left Democratic Alliance is an alliance of 8 Leftist Political parties including Communist Party of Bangladesh, Socialist Party of Bangladesh, Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh, United Communist League Of Bangladesh, Ganatantrik Biplobi Party, Bam Gonotantrik Andolon and Ganosamhati Andolan.[2]
Since 1991, due to the two-party system, two major parties, Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party constantly dominate the politics and form government.
See main article: Awami League.
See main article: Bangladesh Nationalist Party. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, abbreviated as BNP, was founded on 1 September 1978 by Bangladeshi President Ziaur Rahman, politician and physician A. Q. M. Badruddoza Chowdhury, human rights activist and lawyer Moudud Ahmed and leftist politician Mashiur Rahman as the key people. BNP has won the second, fifth, sixth and eighth national elections and two presidential elections, in 1978 and 1981 respectively. The party also holds the record of being the largest opposition in the history of parliamentary elections of the country with 116 seats in the seventh national election of 1996.[3] The party does not have any representation in the parliament after its boycott of the national election of 2014 which the party had termed a scandalous farce and was marked by a very low turnout.[4]
These are all the parties that are currently registered under Election Commission.[5]
| Name | Founded | Ideology | Leader | Political position | Most MP's | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL | Bangladesh Awami League Bengali: বাংলাদেশ আওয়ামী লীগ | 1949 | Sheikh Hasina | Centre to centre-left | 306 (2020) | |||
| BNP | Bangladesh Nationalist Party Bengali: বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল | 1978 |
| Centre-right | 278(1996) | |||
| JP-E | Jatiya Party (Ershad) Bengali: জাতীয় পার্টি (এরশাদ) | 1986 |
| GM Quader | Centre-right | 251 (1988) | ||
| CPB | Communist Party of Bangladesh Bengali: বাংলাদেশের কমিউনিস্ট পার্টি | 1968 | Shah Alam | Far-left | 5 (1991) | |||
| SPB | Socialist Party of Bangladesh Bengali: বাংলাদেশের সমাজতান্ত্রিক দল | 1980 | Comrade Bazlur Rashid Firoz | Left | 0 | |||
| WPB | Workers Party of Bangladesh Bengali: বাংলাদেশের ওয়ার্কার্স পার্টি | 1980 | Rashed Khan Menon | Far-left | 6 (2014) | |||
| JASAD | Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal Bengali: জাতীয় সমাজতান্ত্রিক দল | 1972 | Socialism | Hasanul Haque Inu | Left-wing | 8 (1979) | ||
| BDB | Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh Bengali: বিকল্পধারা বাংলাদেশ | 2004 | A. Q. M. Badruddoza Chowdhury | Centre | 2 (2018) | |||
| GF | Gano Forum Bengali: গণফোরাম | 1992 | Secularism | Kamal Hossain | Centre | 2 (2018) | ||
| JP-M | Jatiya Party (Manju) Bengali: জাতীয় পার্টি (মঞ্জু) | 2014 |
| Anwar Hossain Manju | Centre-right | 2 (2014) | ||
| BTF | Bangladesh Tarikat Federation Bengali: বাংলাদেশ তরিকত ফেডারেশন | 2005 | Right-wing | 2 (2014) | ||||
| LDP | Liberal Democratic Party Bengali: লিবারেল ডেমোক্রেটিক পার্টি | 2006 | Economic Liberalisation | Oli Ahmed | Centre | 1 (2008) | ||
| BSD-ML | Bangladesh Samyabadi Dal Bengali: বাংলাদেশের সাম্যবাদী দল | Dilip Barua | Left to Far-left | 0 | ||||
| KSJL | Krishak Sramik Janata League Bengali: কৃষক শ্রমিক জনতা লীগ | 1999 |
| Bangabir Kader Siddique | Centre left | 1 (2001) | ||
| GP | Ganatantri Party Bengali: গণতন্ত্রী পার্টি | Secularism | Md Arash Ali | 1 (2024) | ||||
| NAP | National Awami Party Bengali: ন্যাশনাল আওয়ামী পার্টি | 1967 | Socialism | Amina Ahmed | 1 (1979, 1991) | |||
| JSD | Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal | 2002 | Socialism | A.S.M Abdur Rab | Left | 4 (1986) | ||
| ZP | Zaker Party Bengali: জাকের পার্টি | Khaja Babaism | Mustafa Amir Faisal | Right wing | 0 | |||
| BJP | Bangladesh Jatiya Party Bengali: বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় পার্টি | 2001 | Nationalism | Barrister Andaleeve Rahman Partho | Centre | 4 (2001) | ||
| BKF | Khilafat Andolan Bengali: বাংলাদেশ খেলাফত আন্দোলন | 1981 | Islamic democracy | Mawlana Ataullah | Right | 0 | ||
| BML | Bangladesh Muslim League Bengali: বাংলাদেশ মুসলিম লীগ | 1906 | Muslim nationalism | Jubeda Kader Chaudhuri | 20 (1979) | |||
| NPP | National People's Party Bengali: ন্যাশনাল পিপলস্ পার্টি | Sheikh Salauddin Salu | 0 | |||||
| JUI | Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh Bengali: জমিয়তে উলামায়ে ইসলাম বাংলাদেশ | Islamic democracy | Sheikh Zia Uddin | 0 | ||||
| GF | Gano Front Bengali: গণফ্রন্ট | 1995 | Secularism | Jakir Hossain | Left wing | 0 | ||
| BDNAP | Bangladesh National Awami Party Bengali: বাংলাদেশ ন্যাশনাল আওয়ামী পার্টি | 1971 | Jobel Rahman Gani | 0 | ||||
| BJP | Bangladesh Jatiya Party Bengali: বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় পার্টি | M. A. Mukit | 0 | |||||
| IFB | Islamic Front Bangladesh Bengali: ইসলামিক ফ্রন্ট বাংলাদেশ | Mujaddedism | Bahadur Shah Mujaddedi | 0 | ||||
| BKP | Bangladesh Kallyan Party Bengali: বাংলাদেশ কল্যাণ পার্টি | Sayad Muhammad Ibrahim | 1 (2024) | |||||
| IOJ | Islami Oikya Jote Bengali: ইসলামী ঐক্যজোট | Islamic democracy | Abul Hasnat Amini | 2 (2001) | ||||
| BKM | Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish Bengali: বাংলাদেশ খেলাফত মজলিস | 1989 | Islamic democracy | Habibur Rahman | 0 | |||
| IAB | Islami Andolan Bangladesh Bengali: ইসলামী আন্দোলন বাংলাদেশ | 1987 | Syed Rezaul Karim | 0 | ||||
| BIF | Bangladesh Islami Front Bengali: বাংলাদেশ ইসলামী ফ্রন্ট | 1990 | Sunni Sufism | M.A. Matin | 0 | |||
| BBWP | Bangladesher Biplobi Workers Party Bengali: বাংলাদেশের বিপ্লবী ওয়ার্কার্স পার্টি | 2004 | Saiful Haq | 0 | ||||
| KM | Khelafat Majlish Bengali: খেলাফত মজলিস | 1989 | Islamic democracy | Mawlana Mohammad Ishaq | 0 | |||
| BML | Bangladesh Muslim League Bengali: বাংলাদেশ মুসলিম লীগ | Muslim nationalism | A.H.M. Kamruzzaman | 20 (1979) | ||||
| BSM | Bangladesh Sanskritik Muktijot Bengali: বাংলাদেশ সাংস্কৃতিক মুক্তিজোট | Secularism | Abdur Razzak Mullah | 0 | ||||
| BNF | Bangladesh Nationalist Front Bengali: বাংলাদেশ ন্যাশনালিস্ট ফ্রন্ট | 2012 | M.A. Abul Kalam Azad | 1 (2014) | ||||
| NDM | Jatiotabadi Ganatantric Andolon Bengali: জাতীয়তাবাদী গণতান্ত্রিক আন্দোলন | 2017 | Bobby Hajjaj | 0 | ||||
| BC | Bangladesh Congress Bengali: বাংলাদেশ কংগ্রেস | 2013 | Secularism | Kazi Rezaul Hossen | 0 | |||
| Grassroots BNP | Grassroots Bangladesh Nationalist Party Bengali: তৃণমূল বিএনপি | 2015 | Secularism | Nazmul Huda | 0 | |||
| Insaniyat | Humanity Revolution Bangladesh Bengali: ইনসানিয়াত বিপ্লব বাংলাদেশ[6] [7] | 2010 | Humanitarian | Allama Imam Hayat | 0 | |||
| BDJASAD | Bangladesh National Socialist Party বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় সমাজতান্ত্রীক দল | SocialismScientific socialism | Sarif Nurul Ambia | Left to Far-left | 0 | |||
| Name | Founded | Ideology | Leader | Political position | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCJSS | Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti Bengali: পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম জনসংহতি সমিতি | 1972 | Autonomy of the indigenous tribes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts | Shantu Larma | Left-wing | |||
| UPDF | United People's Democratic Front Bengali: ইউনাইটেড পিপলস ডেমোক্রেটিক ফ্রন্ট | 1998 | Autonomy of the indigenous tribes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts | Prasit Bikash Khisa | Left-wing | |||
| Name | Founded | Ideology | Leader | Political position | Legal status | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maoist Bolshevik Reorganization Movement of the Purba Bangla Sarbahara Party | 2001 | Communism Maoism | Far-left | Outlawed | [8] [9] | ||
| Purba Banglar Sarbahara Party | 1971 | Communism Maoism | Anwar Kabir | Far-left | Banned | [10] | |
| Purba Banglar Communist Party | 1968 | Communism Maoism | Tipu Biswas | Far-left | Banned | [11] | |
| Kuki-Chin National Front | 2008 | Autonomy of Kuki-Chin people | Nathan Bom | Banned | [12] [13] | ||
| Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami | 1975 | Islamism | Shafiqur Rahman | Far-right | Banned | [14] [15] |