Dhaka, Jan 21 (NationPress) As Bangladesh approaches the elections scheduled for February 12, clashes have erupted between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Jamaat-e-Islami, a radical Islamist party, over election campaigning, according to local media reports.

On Tuesday, tensions escalated as BNP and Jamaat supporters clashed in Dhaka's Mirpur area, resulting in multiple injuries.

Eyewitness accounts shared by The Daily Star, one of Bangladesh’s prominent newspapers, suggest that the confrontation began around 4:00 pm when Jamaat workers were campaigning near the Mubarak Mosque.

While attempting to enter a ten-story structure known as “Heaven Tower” in the capital, the Jamaat group was confronted by BNP members.

Abdul Alim, a security guard at the building, stated that the BNP members obstructed the Jamaat activists, asserting that campaigning was not allowed until January 22.

Idris Ali, a former general secretary of the building’s flat owners’ association, claimed that Jamaat workers had previously visited homes to solicit votes.

“They have campaigned in this area and this building several times before. We even put up a notice board at the entrance stating ‘Political discussions and campaigning are forbidden here’, yet they disregarded it,” The Daily Star quoted Ali.

Several local BNP leaders accused Jamaat activists of soliciting residents' mobile numbers and National Identity cards during their campaigning. Although a heated exchange ensued, the situation eventually de-escalated, and both factions dispersed.

However, tensions reignited outside the mosque, with local BNP leaders alleging that Jamaat workers surrounded some of their members, accusing them of “confining” Jamaat supporters within the building.

Shariful Islam Milon, former general secretary of BNP’s youth wing Jubo Dal from Kafrul Thana, noted, “Jamaat arrived with 100-150 people in front of the mosque and pursued our members. In response, we gathered approximately 1,000-1,500 supporters.”

Local residents reported that BNP workers congregated in the alleys surrounding the mosque, chanting anti-Jamaat slogans.

Milon indicated that the clash resulted in injuries to six BNP workers, with three requiring hospitalization.

On the previous day, a similar clash between BNP and Jamaat supporters in Chauddagram upazila of Cumilla district resulted in five injuries, following a series of attacks on Sunday night, as per local media.

According to local sources, the home of a BNP supporter, Bacchu Mia, was vandalized and looted by unknown assailants on Sunday, escalating tensions.

Subsequently, the BNP office in Dhonijora was also reported to have been vandalized.

Afterward, Jamaat offices in Telipukur Par, Shahadat Hossain Golap Market, and Sameshpur, as well as nearby shops, were set ablaze.

Bangladesh has been experiencing a surge in violence under the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus as the February 12 election approaches.

The political parties that previously collaborated with Yunus to displace the democratically elected government of the Awami League, led by Sheikh Hasina, now find themselves in conflict.