Dhaka, Feb. 8 -- Every election in Dhaka carries its own memory. Of sweeps and shutouts, of streets that once decided outcomes before ballots were cast. Yet as campaigning enters its final stretch, the capital once again finds itself suspended between two possibilities -- an emphatic, one-sided verdict, or a rare moment of balance.

On the brink of the post-July Uprising parliamentary election, Dhaka again stands at the heart of the national contest -- not merely as the administrative capital, but as a political bellwether where power, memory and momentum collide.

Across the city's 20 constituencies, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) remains the dominant force by history and organisation. Yet this time, the Jamaat-e-Islami -- alongs...