Unease is growing within National Citizen Party (NCP) following its decision to reach an electoral seat-sharing agreement with an eight-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami, amid fears the move could alienate elite and cultural-class voters ahead of the upcoming national election.
The NCP, formed in the aftermath of the July 2024 movement and positioned outside the traditional Jamaat-BNP political axis, had gained traction among reform-minded voters.
However, critics say the alliance with Jamaat risks undermining that trust, potentially weakening the party’s support in the 13th national parliamentary polls.
Concerns have been compounded by a wave of resignations from senior party figures. At least 11 central-level leaders have stepped down in recent weeks, some submitting resignation letters to party convener Nahid Islam, while others announced their departures publicly.
Several leaders of NCP said on condition of anonymity that there is strong criticism everywhere in the party regarding these issues. A leader on condition of anonymity told Bangladesh Pratidin that the 11 leaders who resigned from the NCP were not willing to form an alliance with Jamaat from the beginning. However, they did not object to forming an alliance with BNP.
Among the leaders who resigned, Dr. Tasnim Zara was important for the party. Her resignation will have an adverse impact on the electoral field. Amidst the discussions to formally announce an alliance with Jamaat, NCP's senior joint member secretary Dr. Tasnim Zara resigned first.
After that, a total of 11 central-level leaders resigned in succession. Many of them submitted their resignation letters to party convener Nahid Islam. The rest announced their departure from the party on Facebook. Apart from this, at least five leaders have reacted negatively to this issue. Two of them have withdrawn from the elections despite being nominated by the NCP.
The leaders who resigned are Senior Joint Member Secretary Dr. Tasneem Zara, Joint Convener Khaled Saifullah, Tajnubha Jabin, Joint Member Secretary and Media Cell Editor Mushfiqur Us Salehin, Joint Member Secretary Arif Sohel, Central Joint Chief Coordinator Khan Muhammad Mursalin, ICT Cell Head Farhad Alam Bhuiyan, Central Member Al Amin Ahmed Tutul, Central Organizer and Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani's grandson Azad Khan Bhashani and Central Member Syeda Neelima Dola.
Earlier, on December 25, Central Joint Member Secretary and nominated candidate for Chattogram-16 constituency Mir Arshadul Haque resigned at the beginning of the alliance talks with Jamaat-e-Islami.
Although 11 leaders resigned, the remaining 201 leaders are in agreement with Jamaat on the alliance.
NCP Chief Joint Coordinator Mahbub Alam believes that this will not have any impact on the electoral vote bank. He told Bangladesh Pratidin, "We respect everyone's freedom of expression. There is certainly an expectation that the resigning leaders will respect the decision of the remaining party leaders.”
“Because we have discussed the alliance with the party leaders. We have decided to join the alliance unanimously (201 leaders voted yes). The resignation of a few isolated individuals will not have much impact on the 13th National Parliament elections,” Mahbub Alam added.
Bd-pratidin English/TR
