As curiosity grows over whether National Citizen Party (NCP) will form an alliance ahead of the upcoming parliamentary election, the majority of the members of the party’s central executive council have expressed their opinion in favour of contesting the election independently.
Their argument is that this is necessary to establish NCP’s distinct political identity and to build it as a strong political force in the future.
A meeting of the party’s council was recently held at NCP’s temporary central office in Banglamotor, Dhaka, lasting for more than two hours.
The discussions focused on the party’s electoral plans, possible alliances or understandings, and various public perceptions about the party.
When asked, Monira Sharmin, joint convener of NCP, told Prothom Alo that the party has already formed a central election steering committee. The executive council discussed the process of selecting candidates and filing nominations.
Most members opined that NCP should contest the election alone to establish itself as a future political force, she added.
According to the announcement of the interim government, the 13th parliamentary election will be held in February. The NCP, formed by the youth leadership of the July mass uprising, is preparing to participate in that election. As a new party, it has chosen ‘Shapla Koli’ (water lily bud) as its electoral symbol to register with the election commission.
Although NCP leaders have criticised both the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami over the implementation of the July Charter, political discussions have continued about the possibility of NCP forming an electoral collation with one of these two parties.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday night, the NCP’s 51-member executive council met at the party office. More than 30 members attended the meeting, including party convener Nahid Islam, member secretary Akhter Hossen, chief coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary, and other senior leaders.
The two chief organisers, Hasnat Abdullah and Sarjis Alam, along with senior joint chief coordinator Abdul Hannan Masud, could not attend the meeting as they were outside Dhaka.
Speaking with three leaders who attended the executive council meeting, it was learned that the discussions centred on the process of the party’s election activities, including what responsibilities each leader will hold during the campaign.
The meeting also discussed fielding candidates in all constituencies. Many leaders said that the current election atmosphere offers an opportunity to build the party’s organisational foundation across the country.
A responsible NCP leader told Prothom Alo, “Both BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami want to keep NCP on their side in the upcoming election. However, even if joining one of these parties helps win a few seats, NCP will not be able to build its own independent political identity in the long run. Moreover, after all the criticism that NCP leaders have directed at BNP over the past year—regarding extortion and other misdeeds—entering an alliance or understanding with them would mean taking responsibility for those actions.
"On the other hand, if we go with Jamaat, we would have to bear the weight of their historical baggage. Considering everything, maintaining NCP’s independent position would be best—this was discussed in the executive council meeting,” the leader added.
However, the possibility of forming a third alliance, consisting of the six parties of Ganatantra Mancha, along with the AB Party and the Gono Odhikar Parishad, was also discussed during the NCP meeting.
According to that NCP leader, the top leaders informed the executive council that many parties are interested in forming an alliance. However, many of these parties are still in some form of understanding with the BNP. If they move away from that position, a third alliance could be formed. At the same time, there are discussions about whether nine parties can work jointly on the implementation of the July Charter.
The executive council meeting also reviewed several recent media reports about NCP, which the party termed as ‘baseless’.