Bangladesh’s student-led NCP hit with spate of resignations as it allies with Jamaat for 2026 polls

New Delhi: Prominent leaders linked to Bangladesh’s student-led NCP resigned or distanced themselves from the party after its controversial alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami was announced for the 12 February general elections in the country.

The National Citizen Party (NCP) was born out of the 2024 uprising that saw the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government.

“I am not part of this NCP. I made every effort to establish the NCP as a distinct entity, a large July umbrella organisation. However, for many reasons, that was not possible,” he wrote in a post on Facebook Sunday.

His decision followed Saturday’s resignation of Tasnim Jara, a prominent NCP leader who declared she would contest the national election as an Independent candidate.
Abdul Kader, another prominent face of the July uprising, quit the party last week and likened the alliance to the “grave of youth politics”. Tajnuva Jabeen also stepped down from her position as joint convener of the party, and said she will not contest the coming election.

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The alliance

Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman announced Sunday that NCP and Liberal Democratic Party had joined an existing eight-party coalition, expanding it into a 10-member front.

Other NCP leaders defended the alliance, claiming the partnership was a strategic arrangement aimed at advancing reforms rather than ideological realignment.

At a press briefing, NCP convener Nahid Islam stressed the alliance was “strictly electoral’ and did not reflect ideological convergence. The party’s key objective was to consolidate “pro-reform” votes to secure a decisive “yes” outcome in the referendum being held alongside the elections and accelerate structural political changes, the Daily Star quoted Islam as saying.

The referendum will decide if the country will implement reforms detailed in ‘July Charter’, a draft of which was formed in the aftermath of the 2024 protests. It proposes curbing concentration of power in the executive branch, strengthening judicial and electoral independence, and limiting the use of law enforcement in political disputes.

According to NCP leaders, Jamaat and its allies had endorsed the reform agenda, while the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) had adopted what they described as an “anti-reform stance”.

Islam said the party had initially planned to contest all 300 seats independently, but the political climate shifted dramatically after the killing of Sharif Osman Hadi, which he said exposed “hegemonic forces” seeking to destabilise the election process.

“This incident made it clear that forces conspiring to derail democratic transition are still active,” Islam said.

Hadi, the founder of outfit Inqilab Moncho, was shot a day after the Election Commission in Bangladesh announced the date for the next general elections. He was airlifted to Singapore for treatment and died on 18 December.

NCP leaders also cited security concerns, alleging increased harassment of its grassroots activists by BNP supporters. Aligning with Jamaat, they argued, would offer organisational protection in constituencies where the NCP remains vulnerable.

Around 130 NCP leaders submitted a letter backing the leadership’s decision, expressing “full trust” in the party’s convener and urging unity ahead of the elections. The signatories included several senior joint conveners, organisers and committee members.

Since Hasina’s ouster in August 2024, Bangladesh has been governed by the interim administration led by Yunus. With Hasina’s Awami League barred from contesting elections, BNP headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is seen as the frontrunner.
Jamaat-e-Islami, whose registration was revoked in 2013 for violating the country’s secular constitution, is returning to electoral politics after the ban on it was lifted last year.

Internal dissent

NCP’s decision also triggered a wave of internal dissent.

In a Facebook post, senior NCP joint convener Samanta Sharmin wrote that, “Some members of the National Citizen Party deviated from the party’s core aspirations on December 28, 2025 at 5:30pm in exchange for a handful of seats…. Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is not a reliable ally. I believe that entering into any form of cooperation or understanding with Jamaat — given its political position and ideology — would require the NCP to pay a heavy price.”

Alam, who was an adviser for NCP, also questioned in his Facebook post whether the party had truly embraced principles such as democratic renewal, cultural resistance to authoritarianism and social empathy.

“The Citizens’ Committee and the NCP were organised under the frontline leadership of my July comrades. Because my July comrades were in these two organisations, I have provided them with advice, guidance, and policy support whenever requested over the past year and a half. My position is clear,” he said.

He added: “I have spoken about many things, including a new political and economic arrangement, the cultural struggle against fascism, confronting social fascism, reconciliation, and a society based on responsibility and compassion. My July comrades have repeatedly echoed these points from within these two organizations. But did they truly embrace these ideas? In this current phase of history, Bangladesh is in a cold war. In this phase, it is best to remain steadfast in one’s own statements and principles without taking sides. The potential of the alternative young/July force is not yet over.”

(Edited by Prerna Madan)

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