Electoral Failure of Political Islam: The Case of Jamaat-E-Islami in Bangladesh

This article investigates why the Jamaat-e-Islami of Bangladesh (JIB), the largest Islamist political party in South Asia, has been failing to achieve electoral success since 1991, despite their strong Islamist ideology. In fact, the party’s vote share has decreased from its highest point in 1991 to its lowest in 2008. The article, drafted before the recent dramatic political events in Bangladesh, argues that while JIB remains active, the scope for its success in electoral politics in Bangladesh remains questionable. The initial analysis proposes that the syncretic culture of Bangladesh, endorsed by moderate Sufis and the major political parties, together with JIB’s proto-religious objections to Bangladesh’s independence and their opposition to the state’s neoliberal direction, partly explains JIB’s lack of success in presenting a narrative that resonates with the voting public. The article also highlights the mistrust of the media, civil society and political elites towards JIB and identifies competition from other Islamist groups in the electoral arena. Recent developments in Bangladesh, though, raise questions to what extent any form of ‘Islamised’ political messages is actually a dominant matter of concern for elections in Bangladesh.