While the date of the 13th national parliamentary election has yet to be announced, a significant portion of the youth believe that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) will receive the highest number of votes in the upcoming polls, with Jamaat in second place, according to a recent survey conducted by the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (Sanem).
Sanem released the results of the survey on Sunday.
According to the survey, 38.76% of the participating youths believe the BNP will lead the race in the next national election. The Jamaat-e-Islami came in second, with 21.45% of the respondents supporting the party.
Additionally, 15.84% of respondents said the newly emerged political force, the National Citizen Party (NCP), will receive their vote.
The findings further reveal that the ousted Awami League, if it participates in the upcoming election, may receive just over 15% of the vote.
Other religious parties combined may receive 4.59% of the vote, while the Jatiya Party is projected to receive 3.77%, and other smaller parties only 0.57%.
Sanem analysts noted that the survey serves as a timely reflection of the political inclinations and interests of the youth.
According to Sanem, the survey was conducted across all divisions of the country. Two districts were selected from each division, and from each district, two upazilas were chosen. A total of 2,000 youths participated in the survey, aged between 15 and 35 years.
Among the participants, 40% had an education level below SSC, while 60% had completed SSC or higher education.
Highlighting the gender-based results, Sanem noted significant differences in political preferences.
Among the male participants, 40% said they will vote for the BNP, 22.21% for Jamaat, and 14.44% for the NCP.
Among the female respondents, 37.03% supported the BNP, 20.57% Jamaat, and 17.47% NCP.
Sanem also noted that there is an equal representation of rural and urban youths in the survey.
Among the rural participants, 37.72% supported the BNP, 21.25% Jamaat, and 15.38% NCP.
Among urban youths, 39.77% supported the BNP, 21.66% Jamaat, and 16.28% NCP.
The survey also found that 16.62% of rural youths and 13.46% of urban youths still support the Awami League.
