Dhaka, Bangladesh – The fast-paced, rhythm-driven song’s lyrics could come across as commentary about life in rural Bangladesh.“The days of boat, the sheaf of paddy and the plough have ended; the scales will now build Bangladesh”, the words go.In reality, though, the song is a political anthem supportive of Bangladesh’s Jamaat-e-Islami party that went viral on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok in early November.It speaks of the symbols of parties that have governed Bangladesh that it argues Bangladeshis now want to reject: The boat is the symbol of the Awami League (AL) of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted by a student-led uprising in August 2024; the sheaf of paddy is the symbol of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP); and the plough, the election symbol of the Jatiya Party, a former ally of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League, founded by a military ruler in the 1980s.The Jamaat’s symbol is scales.On February 12, the country is scheduled to vote in what is shaping up to be a direct contest between the BNP and a Jamaat-led alliance. On-the-ground campaigning starts on Thursday, January 22. But online, parties have been battling it out for months, trying to attract Gen Z voters who played a key role in overthrowing Hasina, and now could …
