While his admirers lavish praise on his courage, supporters of the Awami League see him as a thorn in their side. At the same time, he has drawn criticism for crossing the bounds of decency in some of his slogans.
Overall, since the July uprising, Sharif Osman Hadi has remained a figure of intense discussion throughout the year. After being shot by assailants, he is now in hospital on ‘life support’.
On Friday, the day after the schedule for the 13th national parliament election and referendum was announced, Hadi was shot by miscreants who arrived on a motorcycle in the Box Culvert area of Bijoynagar in the capital.
The youth had been campaigning to contest as an independent candidate in the Dhaka–8 constituency, which covers this area.
About a month earlier, Hadi had said he was receiving death threats from supporters of the Awami League, ousted from power in the July uprising. Although the attackers have yet to be identified, the BNP and several other political parties believe the attack is part of a conspiracy to sabotage the election.