Thirty founding members of the National Citizen Party (NCP) have threatened to resign en masse if the party proceeds with a potential alliance with Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the 8-party coalition.
One of the female NCP leaders, who signed the letter, confirmed its contents to Dhaka Tribune.
In their letter to the party convener, the members cited Jamaat-e-Islami’s political history, particularly its anti-independence role during the 1971 Liberation War and complicity in genocide, as fundamentally contradicting Bangladesh’s democratic spirit and the party’s values.
The letter further criticized Jamaat and its student wing, Shibir, for engaging in “divisive politics since the July uprising, including espionage within other parties, character assassination of NCP’s women members, and the rising threat of religion-based social fascism.”
The signatories emphasized that, as a democratic political force emerging from a mass uprising, the NCP has a responsibility “to lead toward a path where human rights, religious tolerance, equal dignity, minority protection, and democratic values remain intact.”
They also criticized the leadership’s apparent U-turn after announcing 125 candidates for independent contests, warning that any alliance “for just a handful of seats amounts to betrayal of the nation.”
Highlighting immediate consequences, the leaders noted that news of the potential alliance has already caused some supporters to withdraw their backing. “If moderate people and those expecting new politics withdraw their support, we will lose the party’s moderate base in the future. This will damage NCP’s own centrist political agency,” the letter said.
The members concluded by urging that “strategy should be determined based on principled positions; principled positions should not be sacrificed for strategic reasons,” while maintaining respect for party discipline.
