00:00Ahead of elections, Bangladesh's former ruling party, the Awami League, has all but disappeared.
00:07The party was toppled from power during the mass uprising of July 2024.
00:13Its leader and then PM, Sheikh Hasina, subsequently fled the country.
00:18Bangladesh's interim government later banned the party's activities through an executive order.
00:23The Awami League's electoral symbol, the boat, will not appear on the ballot paper in the national election scheduled for February 12.
00:32In many places, statues and murals of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, father of the ousted PM and the leader of Bangladesh's 1971 liberation war, have been vandalized.
00:43Party leaders and activists have also been targets of public anger.
00:48In Bangladesh's electoral history, Gopal Ganj has always been a stronghold of the aliyan.
00:56This time, even though the vote symbol is banned from the ballot, no candidate can win an election here without the votes of Awami League supporters.
01:06Most are putting their efforts into campaigning for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party candidate, SM Jilani.
01:12The
01:41If you don't have any problems, then you can help us.
01:45We can help you.
01:54From exile, Sheikh Hasina and many top Awamilig leaders are carrying out social media campaigns
02:00to boycott the election.
02:02But voters in Gopalganj still plan to vote.
02:05We are not able to vote.
02:11I am a child for the U.S.
02:14We are not able to vote for the election.
02:17We won't be able to vote for them.
02:20So it will not be able to vote for the election.
02:23We have some people here.
02:25We can help those in favor.
02:28We used to be a family here.
02:31In the absence of Awami League, Jamaayat-e-Islami wants an
03:01ally of the BNP has formed a separate alliance with Islamist parties.
03:05In Gopal Gansh III, the alliance's candidate is Abdul Aziz of Khalafat Maslish, an Islamist
03:12outfit.
03:13He is openly presenting himself as someone aligned with the Awami League.
03:31He is a member of the Royal Family.
03:46He is a member of the Royal Family.
03:50After the rally, GW asked him to explain this statement.
04:20In roadside tea-stall conversations in this remote area,
04:49locals discuss the open playing field amid the gap left by Awamilik.
05:19Gopal Ganj has been an Awamilik stronghold since before Bangladesh's independence in 1971.
05:34Whether any other party can truly take root here in Awamilik's absence is something only time will tell.
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