Tasnim Jara, 31, is standing as an independent candidate in Dhaka-9.

Tasnim Jara, 31, is standing as an independent candidate in Dhaka-9. She resigned from the National Citizen Party, or NCP, before the deadline. Jara has pledged to upgrade the local hospital and create a permanent dengue task force. Voters say they are weary of grand promises from established parties that rarely translate into change. She is a British-educated doctor who returned to Bangladesh after the uprising. She has told voters that her politics will be rooted in service rather than slogans. Jara's calm demeanour and concrete proposals, some say, feel like a departure from politics as usual.