Dhaka, Jan. 12 -- They marched through tear gas and bullets in July. They toppled a government in August. Now, for the first time in their lives, they are preparing for a national vote.

As Bangladesh moves towards a parliamentary election just a month away, the country's young people -- long excluded from meaningful participation in "rigged" or "uncontested" polls -- are poised to become the most decisive force in a contest that will shape the post-Uprising republic.

How many of them are there? And how far can they influence victory and defeat?

Those questions have moved from the margins to the centre of national politics, especially after the stunning results of recent student union elections at Dhaka University and four other campuse...