The twelfth national election, scheduled for January 7, has already lost all its excitement. By distributing seats among the allies of the Awami League-led Grand Alliance, the government itself extinguished all enthusiasm and interest in the vote. The government is unsuccessfully attempting to manufacture tension through a nominal candidate. However, apart from these efforts, there's another strategy the government is employing to focus on the elections: using social media influencers. In today's age, netizens are greatly influenced by online personalities. They closely track where online celebrities dine in, what gadgets they use, and the brands of clothing they wear; this generation follows all these details. The government aims to leverage the popularity earned by these content creators to navigate through the so-called elections. The government has succeeded in this endeavour.

Speaking about the history of utilising such celebrities in politics, prior to the 2018 elections, the government employed well-known figures from outside the political sphere to endorse the elections. They enlisted the support of actors, actresses, and artists from Bangladesh's golden era: ATM Shamsuzzaman, actor and director Afzal Hossain, Zahid Hasan, Shampa Reza, Tariq Anam, Shahriar Nazim Joy, Aruna Biswas, and many others. Each of them canvassed for votes in favour of the Awami League, with some even advocating for the elimination of opposition parties by labelling them as communal forces.

Then, once again, personalities from the film industry were involved during the inauguration of Padma Bridge. It marked the first instance of employing online influencers alongside television and movie personalities. During the Padma Bridge inauguration, the government and the de facto government propaganda institution, CRI, overseen by Sheikh Rehana's son Bobby and Nasrul Hamid Bipu, systematically targeted those who were highly popular among the youth. They delegated the Padma Setu campaign to multiple advertising agencies. They assembled additional beloved faces of the youth, such as Apurba, Mishu Sabbir, Mushfiq Farhan, Ziaul Haque Palash, Porshi, and many others. Additionally, they leverage influencers for their government campaigns, employing popular content creators like Thought of Shams, Naureen Afroz, Rathi Ahmed, Mahathir Mohamad Fahim, and numerous others to promote the bridge.

In the Padma Bridge campaign, influencers attempted to convey "My bridge with my money," essentially a counter-response to the World Bank's withdrawal of financial aid in 2012 following corruption allegations. However, these government campaigns involving online celebrities were organised well in advance, as evidenced by the upload dates of the videos. For instance, Thoughts of Shams uploaded her campaign video for the Padma Bridge on June 25 of the previous year. Notably, the Prime Minister cut the ribbon on June 25 and unveiled the bridge to the public on the 26th. This implies that pictures and videos with these celebrities or influencers were captured there before the Prime Minister's official inauguration. Subsequently, these materials were utilised to pursue political objectives on the day preceding the inauguration.

Furthermore, other actors and influencers, including Shams, were engaged in the Padma Bridge campaign either at the government's invitation or with government funding, as confirmed by a comment from Shams himself. On June 24, she posted several pictures of the main bridge of the Padma Bridge on her verified page, prompting a flood of comments. People questioned how she could engage in such activities when the bridge had yet to be inaugurated. Consequently, Shams felt compelled to comment that she had visited to capture pictures for a government project and that her video was forthcoming. Therefore, they participated in this campaign at the government's invitation.

Before the bridge work commenced, there were concerns about corruption by the World Bank, leading to the withdrawal of funds. Subsequently, more money was spent, accumulating high debt, and the bridge construction took longer due to frequent design changes and financial mismanagement. Despite these issues, even though it's referred to as a bridge, the entire railway project is executed using Chinese funds. Despite these grievances, the government's political campaign leveraging these influencers was successful. The next election will be held through this strategy while keeping 21,000 opposition party members jailed.

As a result, the government endeavours to gradually assimilate influencers who hold significant popularity among the youth into their sphere of influence. As part of this initiative, Nasrul Hamid Bipu, a prominent figure at CRI and Energy Minister, frequently appeared on various influencer programmes. For instance, the influencer platform The Marvel - Be You regularly engages in diverse events. Additionally, Bipu personally gained influence over numerous influencers, including Rafsan TheChotoBhai. Once, while attempting to impress Rafsan, Bipu mentioned that his wife is a fan of TheChotoBhai and suggested that if he ever encountered content creation issues, he could present Mr. Bipu’ visiting card to facilitate the process. This exemplifies how the ruling party navigates the political landscape by leveraging the popularity of influencers in this election year and beyond.

An advertising agency organised the "Trust in Sheikh Hasina" Social Influencer Award 2023 last November in preparation for the 12th election. Mozammel Babu, journalist Shakeel Ahmed, the current president of BCL, Saddam Hossain, and many others delivered speeches during the event. The programme showcased prominent YouTubers such as Tawhid Afridi, Rafsan The ChotoBhai, Neon and On, Kareena Kaiser, Dana Bhai Joss, FoodAppi, Content Creator Prerona, Ishrat Zahin Ahmed, Shubashis-Rituraj Bhowmik from Baap Ka Beta fame, The Hazy Man, Islam-Psychology by Yahya Amin, and the renowned pair Dr. Kushal-Sushma Reza. Dr Sushma Reza was also seen delivering a speech on why Sheikh Hasina serves as her inspiration. Nasrul Hamid Bipu, as customary, was present at the event, and a special announcement revealed that everyone would be added to a WhatsApp group to receive further instructions in support of the Prime Minister. This event marked the preparatory phase of the election campaign.

Afterwards, we observed that prior to the election period, Rafsan, the ChotoBhai, Nusrat Islam of Zoltan BD fame, and BUET teacher Enayet Chowdhury commenced creating videos showcasing Keraniganj and its development—an area situated within Nasrul Hamid Bipu's parliamentary constituency. Neon and On and RJ Gibran have already produced extensive content highlighting Keraniganj's progress and Bipu's achievements. Nafees Salim’s video focusing on business and entrepreneurs will be released shortly. In this manner, Awami League MPs are leveraging the ladder of popularity built by these talented influencers.

As per the latest updates, the Prime Minister joined this campaign. On December 22, CRI organised "Let's Talk," engaging in direct conversations with selected youths. The YouTuber-TikTok personalities mentioned earlier were also spotted at this event. Additionally, some new faces, including Raba Khan and Rakin Absar, were introduced during this gathering. The government aims to harness the popularity of content creators to capture public attention, especially after virtually all plans for a competitive election have faltered. Now, these creators face a critical decision: whether to align themselves with this unpopular government and potentially jeopardise their promising future.