DUCSU election 2025 and Shibir

Was this unexpected victory of Shibir in the DUCSU election actually expected?

At Dhaka University, Shibir is winning simply by securing votes – that’s the reality. Across Bangladesh, management tends to make mistakes and show incompetence. Something similar happened in the DU election, but overall, the election was fairly conducted.

The Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University, Professor Niaz Ahmed Khan, is a skilled educator, honest, and a gentleman. He was my direct teacher for a year, so I know him personally. He’s deeply religious. I don’t know whether he’s affiliated with Jamaat or any political party, but he has stated that he’s not involved in politics. Even if he were personally affiliated, I can confidently say that he would remain neutral in his professional duties. That’s just the kind of person he is.

What happened in DUCSU will be even more pronounced at BUET and medical colleges – Shibir will win by a landslide. The same outcome will likely occur at other universities too. Blaming students won’t help. For the past three decades, Shibir has practiced one-on-one, person-to-person politics. They talk to students, spend time with them, show respect, and offer academic support when needed. Between the ages of 12 and 20, a person’s psychology undergoes massive development. During this time, you can shape someone however you want. Shibir has done all this while keeping their ideology in the background.

Though Chhatra League is no longer relevant, they’re still part of the country’s recent history. What did they do? In contrast to Shibir’s activities, what did Chhatra Dal and Chhatra League offer? They treated students like locusts – assuming they’d show up just because they were called. There are glaring records of torture in dormitories and guest rooms. They forcibly dragged students into rallies and fights. To inflate numbers at big political events, they coerced university students to attend. Poor, lower-middle-class students from rural areas became their pawns, gaining a spot in the dorms and a bit of influence in return. Their politics offered no room for intellectual growth. A student who wants to study, get good grades, tutor if needed, and also engage in student politics – this isn’t possible in Chhatra Dal or Chhatra League. You can’t spend your days chasing ‘X bhai,’ ‘Y bhai,’ ‘Z group,’ this leader, that leader – it’s unsustainable.

Students have seen Chhatra League’s example firsthand. Everyone knows Chhatra Dal’s past activities too. The events of 2001–2006 are archived digitally. They’ve seen it all. Over the past year, BNP, Jubo Dal, and Chhatra Dal have been involved in occupying bus stands, extortion, looting, and violence. Who would feel affection for Chhatra Dal after witnessing all this? Gen Z’s uprising in Nepal mirrors what’s happening in Bangladesh. In the digital age, they observe how law, justice, and governance work in other countries. If they see that their own country is being run by rotten, outdated political clowns clinging to their culture of hate – will Gen Z accept that? They won’t.

Chhatra Dal and Chhatra League are trying to use bright students to carry out the outdated politics of some political clown, without developing any real focus or vision. Their leaders are like uncles to today’s students. In contrast, Shibir’s faces create a “baby vibe” because they’re regular students. Chhatra League and Chhatra Dal drag out one-year committees for seven to ten years. Some leaders stay in the same position for decades, growing gray hair and beards. They engage in factional politics, with a long record of violence. They want bright students to carry out muscle-based politics. Sooner or later, this toxic cycle was bound to collapse. After August 5, 2024, something good happened – at least some students are now engaging in intellectual politics. They understand deep state dynamics, international affairs, and don’t flinch at threats from neighboring countries.

Chhatra League was filled with thugs, drug addicts, and harassers. They failed to attract bright students. Chhatra Dal’s record isn’t good either. Shibir never gained popularity among students solely through religion. That’s not possible. They rebuilt themselves, conducted research, respected students, and prioritized their needs. They invested in coaching centers, social organizations, influencers, and talented individuals. Chhatra League and Chhatra Dal’s politics offer no magic that could attract a bright student. At the university I attended, there was no student politics. But I’ve spent time at other universities and witnessed both Chhatra League and Chhatra Dal’s reigns – their limitless violence, extortion, and use of muscle to enslave ordinary students. Shibir, in contrast, adapted with the times. To reach Shibir’s current position, Chhatra League and Chhatra Dal would need several generations to catch up. That’s the reality.

The last widely accepted national election in Bangladesh was in 2008, before that in 2001 and 1991. Since then, an entire generation has been born and become voters. If the old political fools try to base future politics on vote counts from those times, they’ll keep getting blindsided. People want to silently reject corruption, looting, extortion, scheming, incompetence, ignorance, and hate through their votes. They have no other option. If given the chance, they’ll want to vote for someone outside the Awami League and BNP. Because these two parties have failed consistently for 50 years. What can people do? They’re helpless. That’s why the elites will keep being surprised everywhere.