Over 5.5 lakh Ansar-VDP members to be deployed for Feb 12 election: Home adviser

Home Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury today advised members of Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Party (VDP) to discharge their duties with honesty, sincerity, and professionalism to ensure the 13th national election is held in a free, fair, peaceful, and impartial manner.

He made the remarks as the chief guest at the passing-out parade of the 41st BCS (Ansar) cadre officers, upazila Ansar-VDP trainers and trainers-in-training, and the 26th and 27th batches of Ansar Battalion trainees at the Bangladesh Ansar and VDP Academy in Shafipur, Gazipur.

The home adviser said 555,958 Ansar-VDP members will be deployed at 42,766 polling centres across the country, with 13 members assigned to each centre.

Among the 13, each centre will have three armed members, six unarmed male members, and four unarmed female members, he said.

As part of additional security arrangements, one of the three armed members at each centre will remain on duty round the clock with the presiding officer during the election period, he added.

He also said 1,191 Ansar battalion striking force teams will be deployed nationwide. Each team will consist of 10 members, bringing the total to 11,910, which he said would make the overall election security arrangement more structured and effective.

Jahangir instructed Ansar members to refrain from any unethical, biased, or duty-breaching conduct or activities that could influence or disrupt the electoral process.

He said Bangladesh Ansar and VDP have been taking planned and coordinated preparations since August 2025 to ensure the election is held in a free, fair, peaceful, and festive environment. Under a new training policy, around 56,000 upazila/thana company Ansar members, 255,000 VDP and TDP members, and more than 3,000 Ansar Battalion members have already received basic training, he said.

He added that over four and a half lakh members have been enlisted through the STDMS software for election duty.

Calling corruption the state's biggest enemy, Jahangir said it not only causes economic losses but also erodes institutions from within and breaks public trust. He urged the newly trained members to enter their professional lives free from corruption and guided by human values, ethics, honesty, skill, prudence, humanity, and a service-oriented mindset.

He also said the interim government has taken time-befitting steps, including adding digital management to ensure accountability of officials and staff, as well as measures related to professional excellence, welfare activities, administration, training, and infrastructural development. He expressed hope that these steps would help Bangladesh Ansar and VDP grow as the country's largest disciplined force.

He said the Sanjeeban project has been launched to improve the socio-economic conditions of grassroots Ansar-VDP members. He added that the Ansar-VDP Welfare Trust, Ansar-VDP Unnayan Bank, and Ansar-VDP Co-operative have been playing an important role in improving the quality of life of Ansar members as well as the wider public.

Earlier, the home adviser inspected the parade, took the salute, and distributed awards among four trainees selected as the best in four categories.

The best trainees were Assistant Director Shamim Reza of the 41st BCS Ansar cadre, upazila trainer Sohanur Rahman Russel, Sepoy Md Selim Shahriar of the 26th Ansar Battalion batch, and Sepoy Md Maruf Rana of the 27th batch.

A total of 3,237 trainees completed the passing-out parade, the highest number in Ansar history. The trainees included 15 officers of the 41st BCS Ansar cadre, 88 upazila trainers/trainers-in-training, 1,010 members of the 26th Ansar Battalion batch, and 2,124 members of the 27th batch.