From uprising hero to election defeat: Tasnim Jara’s solo gamble ends in shock loss

However, her promise suffered a setback when the National Citizen Party (NCP) decided to ally with Jamaat-e-Islami ahead of the February national elections.

Jara, a Bangladeshi doctor who gained widespread recognition for her Bengali-language health awareness videos during the Covid-19 pandemic, resigned from her post as Senior Joint Secretary of the NCP in December last year.

She expressed disappointment over the party’s alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami, saying it conflicted with her vision of creating a genuinely new political alternative. The alliance itself failed to deliver electoral success, performing poorly in the February polls.

“When the NCP aligned with Jamaat, I struggled to see how a genuinely new political space could be created,” Jara told The Print.

Choosing to chart her own course, Jara contested the Dhaka-9 parliamentary seat as an independent candidate. The 31-year-old drew large crowds and was mobbed by supporters and followers while casting her vote.

However, her political debut ended in disappointment as she lost the Dhaka-9 seat, marking a significant setback to her immediate electoral ambitions despite her growing public profile.

“I chose a difficult path because I believe in the promise we made — to rebuild institutions and change structures,” she told The Print.

More about Jara

Jara is a Bangladeshi physician, social media personality, and politician who became involved in politics through the National Citizen Party (NCP) and related civic movements. 

She has campaigned on issues like local representation, transparency, accountability, and uplifting political culture in Bangladesh. 

Jara's public statements focus on Bangladesh’s internal politics, fairness, and democratic reforms, not foreign policy toward India or any country.