Good news for Khaleda Zia’s party as Bangladesh’s first opinion poll predicts landslide victory for BNP, Sheikh Hasina’s Awami league to…

New Delhi: In a major development ahead of the 13th Bangladesh general elections, which are scheduled to be held on February 12, an opinion poll has suggested that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) will sweep the upcoming polls with a thumping majority. As per the recent opinion poll released by Eminence Associates for Social Development (EASD) around 70 percent of voters want the next government to be formed by Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

The survey further added that Jamaat-e-Islami will secure the second place. Jamaat-e-Islami emerged as the second most popular party with 19 percent support. The position of other parties appears quite weak. The newly formed National Citizen Party (NCP) is projected to receive only 2.6 percent of the votes, while the Jatiya Party is expected to get 1.4 percent.

Awami League supporters abandon Hasina

The most important part of the survey that surprised many is the shift in stance of former supporters of Sheikh Hasina’s party, the Awami League. According to the data, 60 percent of the party’s old voters are now willing to vote for the BNP, while 25 percent have said they intend to support Jamaat-e-Islami.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

• The BNP has the strongest dominance in the Rajshahi and Chattogram divisions, with 74 percent support.
• The party is quite popular among women voters, with 71 percent of women standing in support of the BNP.
• According to the survey, 77 percent of voters are confident that the BNP will form the next government
• 74 percent believe that the BNP candidate will also win in their own constituency.
• The poll further reveals a significant shift even among voters who previously supported the Awami League (AL).
• Of the former Awami League voters surveyed, 60 percent said they are willing to vote for the BNP in the upcoming elections, while 25 percent expressed support for Jamaat-e-Islami.
• The remaining 15 percent indicated that they would vote for other political parties.

The survey was conducted between December 20 and January 1, during which around 20,495 people across 300 parliamentary constituencies were interviewed.