Zakir Hossain / Dhaka
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is seen as the most suitable to form the next government by 39.1% of respondents in a new survey of 10,413 eligible voters. The People’s Election Pulse Survey, Round 2, conducted by Innovision Consulting, was released in Dhaka on Wednesday.
Jamaat-e-Islami emerged as the second choice with 28.1% support, while the Nationalist Citizen’s Party (NCP) secured 4.9%. In terms of perceived chances, 40% of respondents expect BNP to form the next government, compared with 23.3% for Jamaat.
The findings were presented at the National Archives Auditorium by Innovision MD Md Rubaiyath Sarwar, who led the survey. Discussants included Dhaka University professor Asif M Shahan, Voice for Reform’s Fahim Mashroor, BRAIN’s Shafiqul Rahman and Daily Star’s Zyma Islam.
The survey covered 521 sampling units across eight divisions and 64 districts, with 69.5% rural and 30.5% urban participants. Voter decisiveness dropped slightly to 57.8% (from 62% in Round 1), but willingness of decided voters to reveal choices rose to 83.2% (from 65.7%).
Among the 5,673 who disclosed preferences, BNP drew 41.3%, Jamaat 30.3%, and Awami League 18.8% — up from 14% in the earlier round. NCP and Islami Andolon slipped to 4.1% and 3.1%. If Awami League were excluded, BNP’s share would rise to 45.6%, Jamaat’s to 33.5% and NCP’s to 4.7%.
Demographically, BNP’s support rises with age but falls with education, while Jamaat and NCP score higher among younger, more educated voters.
Respondents also listed priorities for the next government: improving law and order (57.5%), curbing commodity prices (54.6%), tackling corruption (36.9%) and reforming law enforcement agencies (20.3%).