Dhaka, Jan. 25 -- In the run-up to the parliamentary elections, Bangladesh's political canvas has been dramatically redrawn -- not by shifting alliances, but by absence.

For the first time in decades, the once-dominating Awami League will not appear on the ballot when voters head to the polls in February. Its iconic "Boat" symbol, a fixture of electoral politics since before independence, has vanished.

What remains is a political vacuum, and millions of voters up for grabs.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP) are all recalibrating their strategies, tailoring messages designed less to mobilise their traditional bases than to entice voters accustomed to voting for the Awami League....