General elections are to be held in India’s neighboring country Bangladesh in February. Election dates were announced. Meanwhile, before the elections, the rift in the National Citizen Party (NCP) is coming to the fore. There are visible divisions in the party regarding the alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami. 30 NCP leaders have even threatened to resign regarding the Jamaat alliance.
Thirty leaders of the National Citizen Party (NCP) have written a letter to party convenor Naheed Islam, appealing to him not to form any political alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami. He cited the organization’s controversial historical role and recent divisive activities.
30 NCP leaders threatened to resign
Thirty founding members of the NCP have threatened to resign en masse if the party forms a possible alliance with Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the 8-party alliance. At the same time, the party’s senior joint member-secretary Tasneem Zara has also resigned and announced to contest the elections as an independent. It is believed that this alliance dispute is the reason behind his resignation.
Why are you opposing the alliance with Jamaat?
A woman leader of the party, who has signed the letter, has informed the Bangladeshi media about this letter. In their letter to the party convenor, the members cited the political history of Jamaat-e-Islami, particularly its anti-independence role during the 1971 liberation war and complicity in genocide, which is fundamentally contrary to the democratic spirit of Bangladesh and the values of the party.
The letter further criticized Jamaat and its student wing, Shibir, for their involvement in divisive politics since the July uprising, including spying within other parties, character assassination of women members of the NCP, and growing threats of religion-based social fascism.
The signatories emphasized that, as a democratic political force emerging from a mass uprising, the NCP has the responsibility to move forward on a path where human rights, religious tolerance, equal dignity, protection of minorities and democratic values remain intact. He also criticized the leadership’s apparent U-turn after the announcement of 125 candidates for free elections and warned that any alliance for a few seats would be a betrayal of the nation.
Highlighting the immediate consequences, the leaders said that some supporters had already withdrawn their support even before the news of the possible alliance. This will damage NCP’s own centrist political agency. The members have threatened to resign saying that the strategy should be decided on the basis of principled positions, principled positions should not be sacrificed.