A national opinion survey on the first 180 days of the BNP-led government has found strong public approval for Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, but more cautious views about the government’s overall performance and the direction of the country.
The findings were presented at a public opinion survey results presentation organized by Doppler Opinion Research at the BIDA office in Dhaka on Wednesday.
The Doppler Approval Rating Survey 2026 found that 66.3% of respondents believe the prime minister is doing his job well, while 21.6% said he was performing badly. Another 12.1% had no opinion or declined to answer.
The government’s overall approval rating was considerably lower at 54.5%, with 32.9% giving its performance a negative assessment.
The prime minister’s approval remained relatively stable across demographic groups, ranging from 61.7% to 70.3% across age, gender, education and income categories. His approval was also above 62.3% in all eight divisions.
Notably, his approval extended beyond supporters of the ruling party. Among supporters of different parties, 65.5% of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami supporters, 65.8% of Jatiya Nagorik Party supporters and 52.5% of Awami League supporters said the prime minister was doing his job well.
Md Rubaiyath Sarwar, managing director of Innovision Consulting and founder of Doppler Opinion Research, said: “The survey captures public sentiment at a crucial point, showing strong approval of the prime minister alongside growing concerns over economic pressures and governance.”
Fahim Mashroor, convener of Voice for Reform, said: “The findings show that people are hopeful about the future but want the government to deliver tangible improvements in their daily lives, particularly in prices, electricity and law and order.”
Ashik Chowdhury, executive chairman of BIDA and BEZA, said: “The survey provides valuable insight into citizens’ expectations and highlights the importance of translating economic and development initiatives into visible improvements in people’s lives.”
Faridul Haque, joint secretary of the NCP, said: “The findings reflect a divided public mood, with citizens acknowledging positive developments while remaining concerned about governance, the economy and the country’s overall direction.”
Yasin Shafi, a PhD candidate at Pennsylvania State University, added: “The survey indicates cautious optimism among citizens, but the gap between expectations and lived economic realities remains a major challenge for the government.”
Country’s direction
Despite the prime minister’s strong approval, opinions were more divided on whether Bangladesh was moving in the right direction.
Only 48.6% said the country was heading in the right direction, while 35.6% said it was moving in the wrong direction. Another 15.8% either did not answer or had no opinion.
Political affiliation produced a sharp divide. Some 65.5% of BNP supporters said the country was moving in the right direction, compared with 34.4% of Awami League supporters.
Regional differences were also notable, with positive assessments ranging from 61.7% in Mymensingh to 38.7% in Khulna.
The perception also declined with higher educational attainment. While 54.6% of respondents with no schooling said the country was moving in the right direction, the figure fell to 41.1% among those who had completed HSC.
Cost of living
Basic services and the cost of living emerged as citizens’ biggest concerns.
When asked to name the country’s biggest problems without being given a list, 59.5% identified electricity and fuel, while 59.1% cited the price of essential goods.
Law and order ranked third at 32.6%, followed by employment at 30.8%.
The government received its weakest performance ratings on several of the same issues. Some 89.4% said electricity was being handled badly, while 79.6% gave a negative assessment of fuel and gas.
Another 69.1% were dissatisfied with the government’s handling of essential commodity prices.
Of the seven issues tested, education was the only area to receive a favourable assessment, with 70.6% saying it was being handled well.
Families under pressure
The survey found that many families have experienced economic pressure during the government’s first six months.
Some 46.5% said their family was worse off than a year ago, while only 17.5% said they were better off.
However, expectations for the next 12 months were more positive. Around 38.1% expected their family to be better off, compared with 24.3% who expected their situation to worsen.
At the national level, 48.4% said they were more hopeful about the country than a year ago, while 39% said they were less hopeful.
The survey noted that this optimism reflects expectations rather than evidence of an improvement that has already taken place.
The Family Card received support from 78.6% of respondents, while 70.7% backed the government’s tax policy and 70% said the government should implement the referendum result.
Safety and leadership
While 70.9% of men said they felt safe walking alone in their area after dark, the figure was 64.3% among women.
Overall, 95.2% said they felt safe practising their religion openly. The figure was 97.1% among Muslim respondents and 82% among Hindu respondents.
The survey also found that 47.7% rated the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami amir positively, while 39.8% gave a positive assessment of the Jatiya Nagorik Party founding convener. However, 32.1% said they did not know enough about the Jamaat amir to assess him, compared with 37.2% for the NCP founding convener.
‘Honeymoon period almost over’
A total of 10,413 people were called, with 3,443 respondents completing Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI), producing a success rate of 33.1%.
The respondents represented 489 wards and villages across all 64 districts, with findings weighted to reflect Bangladesh’s 2022 census data.
The survey used a panel from INNOVISION’s People’s Election Pulse Survey (PEPS) Round 2, conducted in September 2025.
Commenting on the findings, Asif Shahan, professor of Development Studies at the University of Dhaka, said regular public assessments were essential for governments between elections.
Shahan said the results suggested that the government’s honeymoon period was almost over and that it had limited political capital to spend.
“It shows that the government’s honeymoon period is almost over and with this approval rate, the government has limited political capital to spend which it needs to spend wisely,” he said.
He said the prime minister’s strong personal approval should not obscure weaknesses in the government’s wider performance.
“The prime minister’s high approval rate came as a relief for the government but this also means that good performance by the PM is not necessarily being matched by the cabinet members,” Shahan said.
He also pointed to concerns over livelihoods, extortion and law and order, saying these issues were raising questions about overall governance.
“The government needs to address these challenges in an effective and efficient way,” he added.