Abdul Qader, one of the leaders of the July uprising and a former coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, has claimed that the National Citizen Party (NCP) is moving toward an electoral seat-sharing arrangement with Jamaat-e-Islami.
In a Facebook post on Thursday morning, Abdul Qader said that if everything goes according to plan, the announcement of this alliance may come on Friday.
No immediate response from the NCP was available regarding the matter. After Abdul Qader’s post, calls were made to the mobile phones of five top NCP leaders, including convener Nahid Islam and member secretary Akhtar Hossain, but they did not respond. Jamaat-e-Islami also gave no immediate reaction.
Although Abdul Qader is not formally affiliated with the NCP, his comrades from the July uprising went on to form this political party.
Like him, NCP convener Nahid Islam and other top leaders were coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.
In the Dhaka University Central Students' Union (DUCSU) election held last September, Abdul Qader contested for the post of VP from an NCP-backed panel.
Abdul Qader is known as a supporter of Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan, a former coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.
After the uprising, Asif Mahmud joined the interim government but has stepped down from his advisory post and is contesting the upcoming national parliamentary election as an independent candidate from the Dhaka-10 constituency. He is not joining the NCP.
On the same day, NCP joint member secretary Mir Arshadul Haque announced his departure from the party, claiming that the NCP is on the wrong path, Abdul Qader posted on Facebook claiming that he had learned about the party’s alliance with Jamaat.
In his post, Abdul Qader wrote: “The grave of youth politics is about to be dug. NCP has finally decided to form an alliance with Jamaat. Ignoring the hopes and aspirations of people and party leaders and activists across the country, they have taken such a self-destructive decision solely to serve the interests of a handful of leaders. If everything goes as planned, the announcement of this alliance may come tomorrow, Friday. Through this, NCP will effectively be absorbed into the womb of Jamaat.”
The schedule for the 13th parliamentary election and a referendum has been announced for 12 February. NCP has entered the electoral field with the Shapla Kali (water lily bud) symbol and has announced candidates in more than a hundred constituencies. While it has formed the Gonotantrik Sangskar Jote with the AB Party and the Rastro Songskar Andolon, reports say it is continuing talks with more parties.
Abdul Qader claims that the NCP initially demanded 50 seats from Jamaat, and after bargaining, the number was settled at 30. Under this condition, the NCP would not be able to field candidates in the remaining 270 seats.
He further claims that there are discussions that Nahid would become prime minister if they win the election, and if they fail to win, he would become the leader of the opposition.