Bangladesh: NCP’s coalition with Jamaat puts party identity under sharp scrutiny

Dhaka, Oct 2 (IANS) The decision of National Citizen Party (NCP) in Bangladesh to join the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI)-led coalition has come at a heavy political cost, given Jamaat’s history of opposing the country’s 1971 Liberation War and collaborating with Pakistani forces, a report has stated,

It highlighted that by the NCP’s first anniversary in February, at least 60 leaders and activists had quit the party, with its electoral alliance with Jamaat emerging as the clearest public manifestation of an internal dispute over the party’s political direction.

Addressing a long march organised by the JI-led 11-party opposition alliance on September 19, NCP convener Nahid Islam launched a sharp attack on Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, saying the premier would eventually have to decide how he wanted to leave office. “He must decide whether he will flee the country by helicopter or resign with dignity.”

Importantly, Nahid was not speaking at an NCP rally but at the long march organised by the Jamaat-led alliance to press for a seven-point set of demands, including implementation of the February referendum verdict, measures to address rising prices, the energy and fertilizer crisis, deteriorating law and order, and corruption, according to a report in ‘The Diplomat’.

“This has become a familiar picture in Bangladesh, where NCP routinely joins JI in long marches, alliance meetings and parliamentary protests. The NCP emerged from the student protests that brought down the Awami League government in August 2024. For a party that entered politics promising a new political alternative, this raises a basic question. What still separates NCP from Jamaat?” the report questioned.

“NCP says the relationship is strategic, not ideological. But less than two years after emerging from the student-led uprising, the party is struggling to show voters what still makes it politically distinct,” it added.

According to the report, the bigger challenge unfolded after the election, as the NCP-JI partnership continued beyond the polls. JI chief Shafiqur Rahman became leader of the opposition, and NCP convener Nahid took over as opposition chief whip. The two parties stayed together in the opposition bloc, maintaining cooperation beyond Parliament.

“This creates challenges for its political identity. NCP says it is a separate party. That is true institutionally. But voters do not judge political identity only through party constitutions or official statements. They also see who shares platforms, who coordinates parliamentary action, and who campaigns together on the streets,” it noted.

–IANS

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