List of political parties in Bangladesh

From the restoration of parliamentary democracy in 1991, Bangladesh has a fading two-party system, which means that two political parties dominate the general elections, with extreme difficulty for anybody to achieve electoral success under the banner of another party. Since 2026, two dominant parties are Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.

The current parliamentary system in the country was established in 1991 and is modelled after the Westminster system. Before this, the nation experienced a period of military rule from 1975 to 1990. In response to demands from the two major political parties, the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), a caretaker government was introduced in 1990 following the resignation of military ruler Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad. Chief Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed was appointed as the Chief Advisor and oversaw the 1991 general election.

The caretaker government is led by a Chief Advisor who holds powers similar to those of a regular prime minister, except for defense matters. The Advisors function in roles akin to ministers. Following the 1991 elections, caretaker governments also facilitated the elections in 1996, 2001, and 2008. Initially intended to support the transition from authoritarianism to democracy, the caretaker system was institutionalized in 1996 by the Sixth Parliament due to increasing mistrust between the BNP and AL.

In 2011, the Awami League, then in power, abolished the caretaker government system. This decision has since been a significant point of contention between Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party, contributing to ongoing political disputes.^[1]

The Jatiya Sangsad is made up of 350 members, 300 members were elected by direct votes, and 50 women members were elected by the parties according to their popular voting percentage in the general election.^[2]

The Democratic United Front (Bengali: গণতান্ত্রিক যুক্তফ্রন্ট) is a coalition of ten left-wing political parties. It was formed on 29 November 2025.^[3] Four of the member parties – the Communist Party of Bangladesh, Socialist Party of Bangladesh, Socialist Party of Bangladesh (Marxist), and the Bangladesh Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal – are registered with the Bangladesh Election Commission. The remaining six parties are unregistered.^[4]

The National Democratic Front (Bengali: জাতীয় গণতান্ত্রিক ফ্রন্ট, romanised: Jātīẏô Gôṇôtāntrik Phrônṭ, abbreviated: NDF) is a Bangladeshi multi-party political alliance led by the Anisul faction of the Jatiya Party (Ershad) and the Jatiya Party (Manju). It was founded on 8 December 2025, ahead of the 2026 general election.^[5][6][7]

The 11 Party Alliance (Bengali: ১১ দলীয় জোট), simply referred to as the 11 Parties, is a big tent electoral alliance of eleven political parties. The alliance is led by the Jamaat-e-Islami. The parties competed in the 2026 general election against the 10 party coalition of BNP.^[8][9][10]

The Islami Andolan Bangladesh withdrew from the alliance, expressing dissatisfaction with the seat agreement.^[11][12]

The Grand Alliance (Bengali: মহাজোট) was an alliance of political parties in Bangladesh that was formed in 2008. It consist of the Awami League, Jatiya Party (Ershad), Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Workers Party, Liberal Democratic Party, Jatiya Party (Manju), Bangladesh Tarikat Federation, Ganatantri Dol, Communist Party of Bangladesh (Marxist-Leninist) (Barua) and Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh.

The Liberal Democratic Party left the Grand Alliance before the election and contested independently. It joined the 18 Party Alliance in 2012.

The 20 Party Alliance was a Bangladeshi big tent political coalition led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).^[13] It was originally formed as the 18 Party Alliance on 18 April 2012 in Dhaka, extending its predecessor the 4 Party Alliance.^[14] The 18 Party Alliance was formed in an effort to strengthen the opposition's demands for restoring the caretaker government system used between 1996 and 2008. The main rival of this alliance is the Grand Alliance, led by Awami League, which came into power after the election in 2008.

Ganatantra Manch (Bengali: গণতন্ত্র মঞ্চ) was a political alliance consisting of six political parties in Bangladesh. The alliance announced its formation on 8 August 2024^[15][16][17] and consisted of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Rab), the Nagorik Oikko, the Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh, the Bhasani Anusari Parishad, the Rastro Songskar Andolon and the Ganosanhati Andolan.^[18][19] The Gono Odhikar Parishad was initially with the alliance, but in May 2023, they left the alliance. The coalition effectively ceased to function after Rashtra Sanskar Andolon and several allied parties withdrew and began pursuing a new alliance with National Citizen Party.^[20]

The Left Democratic Alliance is an alliance of six leftist political parties including Communist Party of Bangladesh, Socialist Party of Bangladesh, Socialist Party of Bangladesh (Marxist), Revolutionary Communist League of Bangladesh.^[21]

The United Front was a coalition of political parties in East Bengal that contested and won Pakistan's first provincial general election to the East Bengal Legislative Assembly. The coalition consisted of the Awami Muslim League, the Krishak Praja Party, the Ganatantri Dal (Democratic Party), and Nizam-e-Islam.

These are all the parties that are currently registered under Election Commission.^[22]

• Bangladesh Freedom Party
• Bangladesh Justice Party
• Bangladesh Social Democratic Party
• Bangladesh Popular Party
• Bangladesh National Justice Party
• Krishak Sramik Party
• National Revolutionary Council
• Nation State Movement
• Bangala Saltanat Harakat
• Muslim Bangali Resistance Council

• Awami League (Mizan)
• Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (1983–1991)
• Bangladesh National Congress
• Islamic Democratic League
• Jatiya League

• Politics of Bangladesh
• List of political parties by country