Members of the Ansar and VDP who are permanently or temporarily assigned to security or other duties in government, private, or autonomous organizations are referred to as "Attached Ansar." Over the past 15 years, during various elections organized under the Awami League, a significant portion of the Ansar-VDP forces has been utilized as attached personnel. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, more than 4.8 million Ansar members have served in this capacity during the elections held over these 15 years. Among them are 480 bandits who surrendered to the Awami League government in 1999 and were rehabilitated as special Ansar members. There are also allegations that many of these attached and special Ansar members were involved in various irregularities during the voting process.

Experts are sounding the alarm, stating that the involvement of these attached Ansar members in irregularities casts serious doubt on the feasibility of organizing fair elections in the future. They stress that reforming the force is not just important, but urgent.

Attached and Special Ansar members have consistently presented various demands to the government every election year. These demands have been fulfilled in the past. Most recently, before the last election, Attached Ansar members raised significant demands as additional requirements in the budget. They demanded an increase in daily food allowances from BDT 20 million to 300 million and travel allowances from  BDT 4.5 million to 60 million. The then-government fully accepted their demands and allocated an additional BDT 355.5 million. Subsequently, there were allegations that they were involved in various irregularities in support of the Awami League during the elections.

Experts believe that significant reforms in the Ansar force are necessary to ensure fair elections in the future. They argue that Ansar members are the most extensively involved among all the troops deployed during elections. Therefore, organizing fair elections without reforming the Ansar force seems impossible.

Nur Mohammad, former Inspector General of Police (IGP), told Bonik Barta, "The need for Ansar personnel in various places has arisen due to a shortage of police forces. Particularly, a large number of Ansar members are deployed during elections. However, given their recent activities, it seems there is no alternative to reform."

According to information from the Ansar headquarters, the total number of Ansar and VDP members across the country is 62 lakh 93 thousand 306. Among them, 54 thousand 651 are currently serving as attached personnel in 5 thousand 701 organizations. An additional 15 thousand are ready to serve as attached personnel. Additionally, there are 17 thousand 806 battalion Ansar members and 439 special Ansar who have been rehabilitated from banditry. The remaining members are all VDP personnel.

In the past 15 years, the highest number of attached Ansar members has been deployed for various stages of elections. According to information from the Ministry of Home Affairs, between 2009 and 2023, 48 lakh 14 thousand 395 attached Ansar members participated in national parliamentary elections, city corporation elections, upazila elections, and union-level elections. Battalion Ansar members numbered 68 thousand 813. Additionally, during this period, 19 lakh 66 thousand 212 attached Ansar members were deployed for Durga Puja, 635 for trade fairs, 28 thousand 328 for mobile courts, and 1500 for the Bishwa Ijtema.

According to Ansar headquarters officials, 95 percent of the 4.8 million Ansar members who participated in various elections in the last 15 years were VDP members. They served with Ansar. The uniform was also used by Attached Ansar.

In the last 12th National Assembly election, 5 lakh Ansar members performed electoral duties across the country. Out of this 42 lakh 1 thousand 490 are VDP members. They are collected on the basis of 10 days training at union and upazila level. In the last election, 25 of the Ansar members per platoon (32) were VDP members.

There are also allegations of involvement in various election irregularities against members who were rehabilitated from banditry into the Ansar force. According to sources from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ansar headquarters, in 1999, a special operation was conducted against individuals accused of extremism, involving coordination between the police and the Ansar battalion forces. At that time, those who surrendered were promised general amnesty and rehabilitation. Consequently, 2126 members from various extremist groups surrendered their weapons. Among those who had no pending cases, 765 were appointed as special Ansar members in the Ansar force as an initial step towards their rehabilitation by the then Awami League government. Over time, some members were dismissed for various reasons, and some voluntarily left their jobs. Currently, 480 special Ansar members are working alongside the police in 35 districts across the country.

There is dissatisfaction within the Ansar force itself regarding the involvement of attached and special Ansar members in various unethical activities. Md. Fakhrul Alam, Deputy Director General (Operations) of Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defense Party, told the Bonik Barta, "We are ashamed of the activities of both general and special Ansar members. The achievements made in managing police stations and traffic systems with students during their movement have been swiftly undone by the attached Ansar members. The accomplishments of the Ansar battalion have also been diminished due to their actions. Efforts are underway to overcome this crisis through logical reforms. We hope that these issues will be resolved in the shortest possible time."