Bangladesh polls: BNP accuses Jamaat-e-Islami of attempting to buy votes hours before elections

Hours ahead of the general elections in the country, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Wednesday accused Islamist political party Jamaat-e-Islami of attempting to sabotage the poll process by distributing money to voters, The Hindu reported.

The claims came after a Jamaat-e-Islami leader was held with 74 lakh taka earlier in the day at Saidpur airport in north Bangladesh, The Daily Star reported.

However, the Jamaat-e-Islami rejected the allegations, saying that the incident was a “staged drama” by law enforcement agencies.

Voting is currently underway for the general elections in Bangladesh.

This is the first election since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted after she had fled to India in August 2024 following several weeks of widespread student-led protests against her Awami League government. She had been in power for 16 years.

After her ouster, Nobel laureate economist Muhammad Yunus took over as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government. On Thursday, with the first post-Hasina elections, the interim government’s term will be coming to an end.

Ahead of the elections, Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Mahdi Amin asked how the Jamaat-e-Islami leader allegedly caught with the money at the Saidpur airport obtained the amount “at a time when all banks, financial institutions, business transactions and activities are closed to prevent illegal financial dealings” during polling, The Hindu reported.

A four-day public holiday had been declared in the...

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