US EditionBangladesh's student-led party allies with Islamists ahead of election
The National Citizen Party’s alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami has led to internal resignations and exposes ideological rifts as the NCP seeks broader unity to contest the 2026 election.
- On Sunday, December 28, 2025, the National Citizen Party entered a seat-sharing alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami, expanding Jamaat's bloc to 10 parties, and NCP convener Nahid Islam said the final candidate list would be published on Monday.
- Since last year's uprising, the NCP formed by student leaders framed the alliance as pragmatic to ensure a free, fair election ahead of the February 12, 2026, vote under Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.
- This past week, resignations surged including Tasnim Jara on December 27, at least 30 NCP central committee members opposed the pact, and seat demands fell from 50 to about 30.
- A December survey showed the National Citizen Party at 6%, trailing the BNP at 30% and Jamaat-e-Islami at 26%, while the Islamist resurgence raises concerns for Sufi Muslims and Hindus, under 10% of the 170 million population.
- Reports conflicted as The Daily Star said more than 170 NCP central committee leaders supported the pact, while senior figures warned the alliance would exact a steep price and reversed the earlier pledge to contest all 300 constituencies independently.
28 Articles
28 Articles
Bangladesh election: Students-led NCP faces internal rift over Jamaat alliance; key leaders resign
An internal rift was witnessed within Bangladesh's newly formed National Citizens Party (NCP) after the decision to forge an alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami for the upcoming Bangladesh general elections. Several top leaders of the party, mostly women, have resigned in protest over the decision. As many as 30 leaders of the party issued a joint letter opposing the decision of going with the Jamaat-e-Islami. The dispute deepened on Sunday when Mahfu…
Bangladesh’s National Citizen Party: ‘new hope’ that looks like the old guard
THE National Citizen Party (NCP) was born with a claim that it would not practise politics as usual. Emerging from the July uprising, it asked people to see it as a break from Bangladesh’s old habits of convenience and compromise. It promised to distinguish itself with its own political language and its own sense of responsibility. Two developments have turned speculation into a moment of reckoning. Tasnim Jara, a senior and one of the more visi…
Bangladesh's student-led party allies with Islamists ahead of election
The student-led Bangladeshi party born out of the protest movement that toppled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has forged an electoral alliance with Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami ahead of February's parliamentary election, stirring internal rifts.
Malay Mail
Bangladesh uprising leaders strike election alliance with Islamists amid backlash
DHAKA, Dec 29 — Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party announced yesterday a seat-sharing agreement with a political grouping formed by students who spearheaded last year’s uprising, some of whose members oppose the alliance.Jamaat-e-Islami appears determined to gain a foothold in government through next year’s general election, the first polls since the student-led revolt toppled prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.Islamist movements that …
Bangladesh student protest group forms election alliance with Islamists
The Jamaat said on Sunday that it had reached an agreement with the student-led National Citizen Party. Some NCP members cautioned against the move. The majority-Muslim country has been in turmoil since the 2024 student uprising, and the resurgence of Islamist forces has raised concern among religious minorities.
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