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Citizen Party(NCP) leader Hasnat Abdullah, who sparked controversy for threatening to isolate India's seven northeastern states, has won the Comilla-4 parliamentary seat in the 2026 Bangladesh national elections, according to media reports.
Abdullah secured over 1.6 lakh votes, defeating the BNP-backed candidate, Md A Jashim Uddin, who had boycotted the elections over allegations of electoral fraud, by over 1.1 lakh votes.
The NCP, born out of the 2024 anti-Sheikh Hasina protests, is a part of the 11-party alliance led by the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
Abdullah shot to the limelight during and after the 2024 protests and serves as the party's southern region chief organiser.
ROLE OF HASNAT ABDULLAH IN OUSTING SHEIKH HASINA REGIME
Hasnat Abdullah is a Bangladeshi activist-turned-politician and a former convener of the Students Against Discrimination, which led the anti-Hasina July Uprising in 2024. He has been the Chief Organiser (Southern Region) of the Citizen Party after it was formed in 2025.
As one of the coordinators of the Students Against Discrimination, he was among those leading the initial quota reform movement opposing quotas in government jobs and that would later evolve into a broader anti-Hasina movement calling for its fall.
Following the ouster of Hasina, Abdullah was one of the founding leaders of the Citizen Party (NCP), which came into being on February 28, 2025. The NCP website calls itself the "first student-led political party in the history of Bangladesh".
HASNAT ABDULLAH'S STATEMENTS ON INDIA, SEVEN SISTERS
Abdullah, a staunch critic of Hasina, has, in several instances, verbally attacked India, its policies, and its territorial integrity.
In December 2025, Abdullah attracted controversy after threatening to isolate India's seven north-eastern states and shelter anti-India elements.
Addressing a rally in Dhaka, he warned that Dhaka could offer refuge to "separatist and anti-Indian forces," claiming such support could isolate India's northeastern "seven sisters."
"I want to make it clear to India that Bangladesh will respond if its sovereignty or rights are undermined," he said, adding, "If Bangladesh is destabilised, the fire of resistance will spread beyond its borders."
He also said that "vultures" continued attempts to control Bangladesh decades after independence.
In response, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had called the remarks "irresponsible and dangerous," saying India would not remain silent amid repeated statements about separating the Northeast.
The Northeastern region of India has seven states. That is why they are called the Seven Sisters. The Seven Sisters are, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. Along with Sikkim, the collection of states sharing cultural and geographical ties, is called the Eight Sisters.
Four of the Seven Sisters — Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram — share borders with Bangladesh.
Hasnat Abdullah, who had earlier called for banning Isckon and called for the hanging of jailed Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Prabhu, also criticised PM Narendra Modi's congratulatory post on Vijay Diwas in December 2024.
"This is Bangladesh's Liberation War. The war was fought for Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan. But Modi has claimed that it was solely India's war and achievement. In doing so, they've completely ignored the existence of Bangladesh," Abdullah posted on Facebook on Monday.
HASNAT ABDULLAH'S CONTROVERSIAL WIN AT COMILLA-4
Abdullah, who contested from the Comilla-4 seat, won the election by a landslide, with Dhaka-based newspaper, The Business Standard, reporting a lead of over 110,000 votes.
His victory is one of the few bright spots for the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance in an election where the BNP has gained a thumping two-thirds majority in the country's parliament.
During polling, Abdullah had urged voters to turn out freely, describing the vote as "festive" and urging the public to remain free from fear or intimidation, according to BDNews24.
However, the race was not without controversy.
Bangladeshi news portal, Desh Rupantor, reported that Abdullah's rival, Jashim Uddin, who was contesting as a candidate for the Gono Odikar Porishad (GOP) and also had BNP backing, boycotted the election after voting concluded.
The BNP-backed candidate alleged irregularities and malpractice at polling stations, including claims that his agents were barred from centres and voters pressured.
While the broader picture in Comilla reflected strong gains for the BNP, who won eight of the district's 11 seats, Abdullah’s victory marked one of the few wins for the NCP, which had contested a total of 30 seats as part of the 11-party Jamaat alliance.
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Published By:
Shounak Sanyal
Published On:
Feb 13, 2026
