Polling booths, schools set ablaze as violence mars Bangladesh on election eve

"This government out and out from head to neck is corrupt. They have connections. This is not a democratic government. Development cannot be there without democracy. People's participation must be there," Roy from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) told PTI.

"In our politics why do I stress so much on economic conditions? Politics is a concentrated expression of the economy. If we fail to bring our economy in position, it will not do anything. We are going through a peaceful movement. We never believe in violence and destroying people's property," he said.

Bangladesh's main opposition party BNP led by former prime minister Khalida Zia is boycotting the January 7 election amid violence and has called for a 48-hour nationwide strike against the "illegal government".