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Bangladesh's student-led National Citizen Party split over alliance with Jamaat ahead of national polls
The National Citizen Party has now found itself divided over alliance and seat-sharing discussions with Jamaat-e-Islami.
The student-led National Citizen Party (NCP), which was formed during the July Uprising last year, leading to the ousting of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has now found itself divided over alliance and seat-sharing discussions with the Islamic conservative party Jamaat-e-Islami for the upcoming national elections.
One of the prominent NCP leaders, Tasneem Jara, announced that she is rejecting the party's candidacy and will run independently in the upcoming national elections, scheduled for February next year.
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"My dream was to enter parliament through the platform of a political party and serve the people of my constituency and the country. However, due to the current realities, I have decided not to contest the election as a candidate of any specific party or alliance," Jara wrote in a Facebook post.
"I promised you and the people of the country that I would fight for you and for building a new political culture. No matter the circumstances, I am firmly determined to keep that promise. Therefore, in this election, I will contest as an independent candidate from Dhaka-9," she added.
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Samanta Sharmin, another senior leader of the NCP, has issued a statement opposing the NCP's alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami.
"Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is not a reliable ally. I believe that entering into any cooperation or understanding with Jamaat-e-Islami--given its political position and ideology--would force the NCP to pay a heavy price," Sharmin said in a statement.
"According to the National Citizen Party's (NCP) long-standing position, its core principles and vision of the state are completely different from Jamaat's. NCP is a party formed around justice, reform, and the election of a constituent assembly--what it calls the Second Republic. Therefore, alignment on these three issues is a prerequisite for any political alliance," the statement added.
She stated that her current stance aligns with the party's position over the past one and a half years, noting Jamaat's obstruction in reforms by demanding proportional representation (PR) in the lower house.
She also noted that allying with Jamaat does not imply support for the BNP. She stated that NCP's longstanding positions were correct and that she will remain committed to that ideology.
"My current position is consistent with the party's stance over the past one and a half years. Jamaat had engaged in obstructing reforms by raising demands for PR (proportional representation) in the lower house. As a result, the NCP convener stated that an alliance with those who are not in favour of reform is not possible. Consequently, after the July march, multiple leaders--including the convener--announced that NCP would field single candidates in all 300 seats, and candidates from across the country were invited with the declaration that NCP would contest the election independently," the statement read.
"Any alliance with either BNP or Jamaat would mean deviating from NCP's organisational and political policies,' the statement added.
The students who led the uprising against Sheikh Hasina in July 2024 are the same ones who formed the NCP.
Since the party took the initiative to form an electoral alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami, divisions have emerged within the party, with female leaders in particular strongly opposing the move.
