For the first time in decades, the symbol that once defined elections in Sheikh Hasina’s hometown is missing. The Awami League’s iconic “boat” does not appear on ballot papers or posters across Gopalganj, a district long seen as the safest political ground for Bangladesh’s ousted former prime minister.

Instead, walls and street poles are plastered with campaign material from rival parties including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami, and independent candidates ahead of the February 12 national election.

The absence marks a historic rupture in a constituency that produced both Hasina and her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s founding leader.

Hasina ruled for more than 15 uninterrupted years until a youth-led uprising in August 2024 forced her from office and into exile in India. Her Awami League has since been barred from contesting the election, which is being held under an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.

No Party, No Vote

For many lifelong Awami League supporters, the election feels irrelevant.

“If there is no boat on the ballot paper, none of the 13 voters in my family will go to the polling station,” said Ershad Sheikh, a rickshaw puller in Gopalganj, standing beneath layers of opposition posters.

Hasina warned last October that excluding her party would leave millions of supporters without representation and could trigger widespread voter apathy.

That sense of exclusion has been sharpened by legal action against former Awami League leaders. A Dhaka court sentenced Hasina to death late last year for ordering a deadly crackdown during the 2024 uprising. A United Nations report estimated up to 1,400 people were killed, most by security forces allegations Hasina has denied.

Voters Drifting to Rivals

Yet not all former Awami League voters are disengaging. A recent survey found that nearly half now favour the BNP, currently leading most opinion polls, while around 30% are shifting towards Jamaat-e-Islami.

“These patterns suggest former Awami League voters are consolidating behind specific opposition alternatives rather than withdrawing entirely,” said the Dhaka-based Communication & Research Foundation, which conducted the study.

In Gopalganj, the transition has been painful for many families. Shikha Khanam said her brother, an activist in the party’s student wing, was arrested under the Anti-Terrorism Act following unrest at a rally last July.

“We won’t vote. We are done,” she said.

Fear, Hope and a Competitive Election

The July clashes, linked to a rally marking the 2024 uprising, left five people dead. Several Awami League activists and minority community members say fear still shapes daily life.

Others, however, see the absence of the ruling party as a chance for genuine competition.

“In the past, I found my vote already cast,” said businessman Sheikh Ilias Ahmed. “This time, I want to believe things will be different.”

Political analyst Asif Shahan of the University of Dhaka believes turnout will be uneven but decisive.

“The core loyalists may abstain,” he said, “but undecided and locally focused voters could determine the outcome.”

As Gopalganj prepares to vote without its most dominant political force, the result may offer the clearest signal yet of how Bangladesh’s political landscape is reshaping itself after Hasina.

With inputs from Reuters