10-party electoral alliance: Fresh talks begin over allocation of 47 seats

Leaving 47 seats vacant for Islami Andolan, the ‘10-party electoral alliance’, including Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP), had finalised seat-sharing arrangements for 253 constituencies.

However, with Islami Andolan stepping away, other parties in this alliance are now seeking a share of those 47 seats, prompting fresh discussions among them.

Against this backdrop, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis Ameer Maulana Mamunul Haque met Jamaat-e-Islami Naib-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher on Saturday afternoon.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting at Jamaat’s central office, Mamunul Haque said that since Islami Andolan is no longer part of the process, the remaining seats will be allocated through the same consensus-based mechanism used earlier.

The candidate considered strongest in each constituency will be nominated as the joint candidate of the 10-party alliance, he said.

Meanwhile, the National Citizen Party (NCP) also sees the exit of Islami Andolan as an opportunity to secure more seats. Party sources said the NCP had initially sought 35 to 40 seats from Jamaat and had submitted nomination papers in 47 constituencies with that goal in mind.

Under the earlier agreement, the party was allocated 30 seats. Now, following Islami Andolan’s withdrawal, the NCP has begun talks with Jamaat over the possibility of an increased allocation.

Speaking to Prothom Alo on Saturday afternoon, NCP joint convener and election management committee secretary Monira Sharmin said, "Islami Andolan’s decision to leave the alliance is unfortunate. However, their absence will not have much impact on the alliance."

"With their exit, there is now a possibility of increasing a number of seats for NCP, and discussions are ongoing in that regard," added the NCP leader.

The AB Party and Khelafat Majlis are also engaged in talks over increasing their seat allocations. Khelafat Majlis Secretary General Ahmad Abdul Kader told Prothom Alo on Saturday night, “We have some demands, and discussions on those are under way.”

Jamaat’s publicity and media wing chief Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair said the 10-party liaison committee has been tasked with deciding on the vacant seats.

Speaking to journalists on Saturday afternoon, he said the alliance’s top leadership would make final decisions on the remaining constituencies after the liaison committee’s meeting.

Earlier, at a press conference on Thursday night, the 10-party electoral alliance announced that seat-sharing arrangements had been finalised for 253 constituencies.

Under that agreement, Jamaat was allocated 179 seats, the NCP 30, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis 20, Khelafat Majlis 10, LDP seven, AB Party three, and two seats each for the BDP and Bangladesh Nezam-e-Islami Party.

The remaining two parties, Jagpa and Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan, will not field candidates but will remain partners in the alliance, with assurances of future consideration.