A deep internal rift has emerged within the Jatiya Nagorik Party (NCP) over its planned electoral alliance with Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami ahead of the 13th National Parliament elections, with at least 30 party leaders formally objecting to the move and a senior leader resigning in protest.
According to party sources, the NCP—along with its ally the AB Party—initially demanded 50 constituencies under the proposed alliance, while Jamaat agreed to allocate 30 seats. Negotiations over additional constituencies are still ongoing.
Senior NCP leaders, including Convener Nahid Islam and Akhtar Hossain, have agreed in principle to remain in the alliance with Jamaat, though the final seat-sharing arrangement has yet to be concluded.
A NCP leader said, “We have agreed to continue discussions with Jamaat. Although they have agreed to give us 30 seats, we are seeking a few more. Talks are still underway.”
Meanwhile, there has been a division in the NCP over the seat agreement and alliance with Jamaat. Almost one-third of the party’s leaders have expressed dissatisfaction with the decision to form an alliance with Jamaat.
They said that the decision to form an alliance with Jamaat by announcing candidates for 300 seats and selling nomination forms will be a betrayal of the people of the country. 30 NCP leaders have written to Nahid Islam objecting to this.
On top of that, NCP senior joint convener Samantha Sharmin, joint convener Monira Sharmin, Nusrat Tabassum and Tajnuva Jabin, senior joint member secretaries Tasnim Zara and Nahida Sarwar Nibha, joint member secretary Mushfiqur Us Salehin, SM Saif Mostafiz, Khulna divisional organizing secretary Faridul Haque and joint convener Khaled Saifullah are not willing to enter into an alliance with Jamaat.
After the alliance process was finalized, the party's senior joint member secretary Tasnim Zara resigned from the NCP. She made this announcement on Saturday night in a Facebook status. At that time, she also announced that she would participate in the next election as an independent candidate.
When asked, joint member secretary of the NCP Mushfiqur Us Salehin told Bangladesh Pratidin that forming an alliance with Jamaat by promising to field candidates in 300 seats from the beginning means being dishonest with the people of the country. “Out of this, 1,800 nomination forms have been sold after conducting several layers of interviews. Out of this, by announcing candidacies in 125 seats through verification, the seat agreement is now unethical. Besides, even though there is an agreement with Jamaat for 30 seats, many leaders will not be able to vote.”
Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Dr. Hamidur Rahman Azad said, “The seat agreement with the NCP is going very well. The number of seats being given up has not yet been finalized. However, we hope it will be finalized soon.”
On the other hand, at the last minute, there has been tension between the eight parties over the seat agreement. Talking to the top leaders of the parties, this complication has arisen because the demand for seats by each party is very high.
However, despite the tension over the seat agreement, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Bangladesh Labor Party are joining the eight parties. Party sources said that the process of reaching an agreement with these parties over the distribution of seats is underway.
When asked, Khilafat Majlis Secretary General Dr. Ahmed Abdul Quader said, “We have come a long way with the seat agreement between the eight parties. At the last minute, there has been some tension between the parties over the seat agreement. However, we hope that this tension will end in the next meeting.”
He said, “New discussions are underway with NCP, AB Party, Liberal Democratic Party and Bangladesh Labor Party. Hopefully, if the seat agreement is reached, these four parties will also join the eight parties.”
NCP to enter into alliance with Jamaat, announcement today: NCP is going to participate in the 13th National Parliament elections in alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami. The alliance will be announced on Sunday.
NCP Senior Joint Convener Samantha Sharmin confirmed the matter to the media on Saturday night. She said, '”Finally, NCP is entering into an alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami. An announcement will be made on Sunday.”
Letter from 30 NCP leaders to Nahid Islam: 30 members of the party's central committee have objected to the NCP's political alliance or seat agreement with the eight-party alliance including Jamaat-e-Islami. On Saturday, they wrote a letter to party convener Nahid Islam expressing deep concern over this important issue.
In the letter, the leaders cited the NCP's declared ideology, historical responsibility related to the July Uprising and democratic ethics as the basis for their objection.
The letter states, “For the past one year since the July Uprising, the divisive political activities of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student organization Chhatra Shibir, espionage and sabotage within other parties, attempts to blame the NCP for various misdeeds, lies and propaganda about the Bangladesh Democratic Student Union (BDS) and later on the student power in the student parliament elections, attempts to assassinate the character of the NCP and our student organization's female members through their online force, and above all, the fear of the rise of social fascism centered on religion, have become ominous signs for the future of the country.”
The letter also states, “Jamaat-e-Islami's political history, especially its anti-independence role during the 1971 Liberation War, its collaboration in genocide and its stance on various crimes committed during that time, is fundamentally at odds with the democratic spirit of Bangladesh and the values of our party.”
The leaders mentioned in the letter that any kind of alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami would weaken the moral standing of the NCP. They also believe that it would have a long-term negative impact on political credibility.
The signatories to the letter include NCP joint convener Khaled Saifullah, joint member secretary Mushfiqur Us Salehin, central organizer Arman Hossain, joint convener Nusrat Tabassum, joint chief coordinator Khan Md. Mursaleen, organizer Rafiqul Islam Aini, and others.
Bd-pratidin English/TR
