After a six-year hiatus, elections for the Dhaka University Central Students' Union (DUCSU) are set to be held once again. Student organizations of Dhaka University have already announced their respective candidates. Against this backdrop, several Facebook posts have claimed that Islami Chhatra Shibir has, for the first time, publicly announced candidates for the DUCSU election. The BBC Bangla Facebook page and its live news feed have reported, “For the first time in independent Bangladesh, Islami Chhatra Shibir has publicly announced a panel to contest in the Dhaka University Central Students' Union election. While the organization had previously fielded candidates secretly, it never engaged in open campaigning, according to then student leaders.” English-language daily The Business Standard published a report echoing the same claim. Bengali daily Khabarer Kagoj also provided similar information. However, an investigation by FactWatch reveals that Islami Chhatra Shibir had publicly announced candidates and panels and conducted campaigns in the DUCSU elections of at least 1979, 1980, 1982, 1989, and 1990.

Following Bangladesh’s independence in 1971, the 2025 DUCSU election will be the ninth such election. Previous elections were held in 1972, 1973, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1989, 1990, and 2019.

Archived newspaper reports available in the Sangramer Notebook online archive confirm that in the DUCSU elections of 1979, 1980, 1982, and 1990, Islami Chhatra Shibir publicly declared candidates and campaigned.

Islami Chhatra Shibir was founded on February 6, 1977.

In the 1979 DUCSU election, a report published in Dainik Sangbad on July 24, 1979, states that Abu Taher ran for the Vice President (VP) post and Abdul Kader Bacchu contested for the General Secretary (GS) position on behalf of Islami Chhatra Shibir. The same information was reported in Dainik Ittefaq on the same day.

For the 1980 DUCSU election, held on November 17, historical newspapers show that Islami Chhatra Shibir participated in the election and conducted campaigns. According to a report published in Dainik Azad on November 17, Shibir was among the participating student organizations. Another report in Dainik Ganakantha mentions that in the 1980 DUCSU election, Shibir contested with the Taher-Kader panel. This report also provides information about their campaign activities in various dormitories. Dainik Ittefaq reported that Islami Chhatra Shibir organized a cycle rally on the eve of the 1980 DUCSU election.

The 1982 DUCSU election took place on January 23. A report published in Dainik Ittefaq on that day confirms Shibir’s participation, naming Enamul Haque Manju and Abdul Kader Bacchu as candidates for the VP and GS posts, respectively. Another report published on January 22 in the same paper describes a grenade attack on an Islami Chhatra Shibir rally held in the lead-up to the election, which injured 22 people. In response, Shibir activists staged a sit-in protest in front of the Dhaka University Vice Chancellor's residence.

The 1989 DUCSU election was held on February 8. In this election, Islami Chhatra Shibir contested under the Shamsu-Amin panel. A report published in Dainik Ittefaq on that day states that A N M Shamsul Islam contested for VP, and Aminul Islam for GS from Shibir. The same report notes that a total of seven panels participated in that DUCSU election. The full list of members from the Shamsu-Amin panel, nominated by Shibir, is included in the Ittefaq report.

That DUCSU election had a total of 20 positions up for contest, including VP and GS.

According to a report published in Dainik Ittefaq on May 27, 1990, a total of 30 panels submitted nominations for the DUCSU election that year. From Islami Chhatra Shibir, Muhammad Aminul Islam submitted a nomination for VP, Muhammad Mujibur Rahman for GS, and Shafiqul Alam Helal for Assistant General Secretary (AGS). Dainik Inqilab also published a report containing the same details. A report in Dainik Sangbad confirms that Shibir submitted its own panel for this election.

Based on the above information, it is clear that this is not the first time Islami Chhatra Shibir is participating publicly in a DUCSU election. The organization has previously contested multiple DUCSU elections and openly campaigned. However, most of the archived newspaper reports do not contain full lists of panel members, usually only mentioning the VP and GS candidates. In some cases, names of AGS candidates are also found. Notably, for the 1989 DUCSU election, three out of the seven participating panels had full candidate lists reported, including Shibir’s panel. Therefore, FactWatch identifies the Facebook posts claiming that Islami Chhatra Shibir has publicly declared candidates or a panel for DUCSU for the first time as false.

Original News Source: https://www.fact-watch.org/islami-chhatra-shibir-has-publicly-declared-candidates-for-the-ducsu-election-for-the-first-time/