Dhaka, Dec. 13 -- Blood has been spilled in Dhaka less than a day after Bangladesh unveiled its election schedule, when a well-known face of the July Uprising and the Awami League ban movement was shot in broad daylight after declaring he would run as an independent candidate for Dhaka-8 constituency.

The attack on Sharif Osman bin Hadi, convenor of the Inquilab Mancha platform, has reignited grim questions about the breakdown in law and order following the 2024 political upheavals and heightened anxiety over the safety of candidates and voters as the country moves toward the polls.

Political parties had already voiced fears over how security would hold in the run-up to the vote. Those concerns, analysts say, were swiftly and brutally v...