A report published in 'The Diplomat' has studied the pattern of political violence over the last two decades. For this, records, academic research and media reports of Bangladesh's human rights organization 'An O Salish Kendra' (ASK) were used.
According to the report, political clashes have continued to occur under different governments even during times of major political changes.
A recent incident took place on October 18, when Ripon Mian, a local leader of BNP's youth wing 'Jubo Dal', was chased and attacked with sharp weapons in Paiska area of Narayanganj district. The family took him to the hospital, but the doctors declared him dead.
According to local BNP workers, tension had increased between the two groups over whose name should be included in the guest list of a religious function. Ripon's daughter Sheela told local media that several people chased and attacked her father. The local BNP president described the murder as related to a fight for political influence.
Another incident occurred on February 28 in Chuadanga district, where two brothers were killed in a clash between BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) supporters.
According to the police, the argument that started after Iftar during Ramzan turned into a violent clash. Hafizur Rahman died a few hours later in the incident, while his brother Mofizur Rahman, a local JI leader, died in a hospital in Dhaka on 10 March.
Both parties blamed each other for the incident. Following a murder case filed by the family, police arrested three people, including a local BNP leader and a former office-bearer of its volunteer wing. The incident occurred less than two weeks after the BNP returned to power.
The ASK figures given in the report show the severity of the problem. Between January and September 2026, the organization recorded 467 incidents of political violence, resulting in 94 deaths and 3,587 injuries. Of these, 112 incidents were of clashes between internal factions of BNP, in which 18 people died and 1,215 were injured.
The figures cover the tenure of both the interim administration and the elected government led by BNP chief Tariq Rahman. Tariq Rehman took over as Prime Minister on 17 February.
According to the report, this is nothing new. Between 2002 and 2006, when the BNP was first in power, the ASK had recorded 284 internal clashes within the party, resulting in 55 deaths. In the same period, 37 people were killed in clashes within the Awami League (AL).
When the Awami League returned to power in 2009, ASK recorded 799 internal conflicts within the party between 2009 and 2012, resulting in 97 deaths. During the same period, 229 clashes took place in BNP and 21 people died.
The report also highlights violence during local elections, especially union council elections. According to ASK, 147 people died in 2016 and 113 in 2021 in incidents related to election violence. This shows that the competition for local political positions sometimes turns deadly.
According to the report, battles for supremacy within political organizations, as well as disputes over contracts, land, property and employment, are the major causes of violence.
The political transition in August 2024, which ended the 15-year-long rule of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, had people hoping that a new political culture would develop in the country. But subsequent events indicated that the battle for local influence and control over economic networks continued even after the interim government and the BNP returned to power.
The conclusion of the report is that there have been changes of power in Bangladesh, but the political rivalry going on at the local level has not ended. This is the reason why political violence keeps coming to the fore again and again and remains a big challenge for the country.