NCP as an alternative: How far has it come, has its centrist line survived?

The National Citizen Party (NCP), born out of the leadership of the July mass uprising, had sought to establish itself as an “alternative” and “centrist” political force. However, a mere one year and four months after its inception, the party now finds itself as a partner in the Jamaat-e-Islami-led opposition alliance.

Although its parliamentary presence has been secured, this very alliance has raised fresh questions regarding the NCP’s claims to distinctiveness and moderation.

The NCP holds a total of eight seats in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad (national parliament). Among these, six are directly elected, while two are reserved seats for women.

Even the NCP leaders themselves do not deny that the party secured its place in parliament owing to its alliance with Jamaat. Nevertheless, questions have emerged within the political arena: has the party weakened its independent stance in exchange for this parliamentary presence? Will the NCP ultimately be able to rise as a distinct alternative outside the conventional parties, or will it end up overshadowed beneath the mantle of Jamaat?

The NCP made its grand debut through a glamorous ceremony held at Manik Mia Avenue in the capital on 28 February 2025. The frontline leaders of the July mass uprising were the initiators of the party.

At the debut ceremony, NCP Convenor Nahid Islam read out the manifesto. It was noted therein that during the July mass uprising, a slogan had echoed from among the students and the public: “Who are you? Who am I? Alternative, alternative!” It was from that very niche of an alternative that the new political party emerged.

From the outset, NCP leaders had been asserting their desire to build a centrist political force. Speaking at the debut stage, Nahid Islam also stated that by preserving the existing ethnic, social, gender, religious, and cultural values and diversity within the state, they wished to construct a pluralistic and prosperous society.

As figures to be emulated in their politics, the NCP has been using the portraits of Sher-e-Bangla AK Fazlul Huq, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, Jogendranath Mandal, and Abul Hashim in various programmes. According to the party’s leaders, these figures are symbols of syncretic and centrist politics.

However, nearly one year and four months post-inception, that very ‘alternative’ and ‘centrist’ stance now faces a major litmus test. Having failed to achieve the anticipated organisational strength, the NCP joined the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance to secure its presence in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad.

As alliance partners, the NCP is also conspicuously toeing the same line as Jamaat on various issues. Consequently, the question of how far the party’s declared moderation is a realistic political stance, and how far it is merely a political narrative, has intensified.

The NCP was formed through the integration of leaders from the National Citizens’ Committee and the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, both established at the initiative of the July uprising’s leadership.

Following the uprising, a phrase frequently uttered by the leaders of the Citizens’ Committee and the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement was a ‘new political settlement’. Following the formation of the NCP, at an Iftar party hosted in honour of diplomats on 24 March 2025, Nahid Islam urged everyone to view the NCP not merely as a new political party, but as the ‘inception of a new political settlement’ in Bangladesh.

However, during the tenure of the interim government, allegations of irregularities and corruption surfaced against certain individuals associated with the NCP. Legal or formal resolutions for most of these allegations have not come to light. Nonetheless, these allegations dealt a blow to the NCP’s narrative of a ‘new settlement’ within political discourse.

Yet, while announcing the election manifesto ahead of the 13th parliamentary elections, Nahid Islam stated that even though they had entered an electoral alliance, their struggle for a new settlement remained ongoing.

He remarked that the fascist system must be abolished to forge a new settlement that would prevent the recurrence of autocracy. This settlement would ensure democracy, eradicate economic disparity, build an inclusive society, and protect religious values and cultural diversity, thereby creating an opportunity to stand before the world with national dignity.

The NCP’s centrist stance faced severe scrutiny on 3 May 2025. On that day, Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh held a massive rally at Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka. The rally was called to press home a four-point demand, including the dissolution of the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission constituted by the interim government and the scrapping of its report. At that rally, very offensive and derogatory slogans targeting women were chanted, drawing widespread criticism.

Hasnat Abdullah, the chief organiser of the NCP’s southern region and currently a member of parliament for the Cumilla-4 constituency, was invited to that very rally.

In his speech, Hasnat urged the government to swiftly take into account Hefazat’s concerns regarding the proposals of the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission.

This incident sparked intense debate across social media and mass media alike. It was from that point onward that the NCP’s moderation began to be questioned.

Compounding this is the past political identity of a section of the NCP’s central leadership. Several leaders of the party were once involved in the politics of Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. Consequently, deliberations regarding the extent to which the NCP could operate independently of Jamaat’s influence had existed from the very beginning. This question has loomed even larger following the electoral alliance with Jamaat.

Following the parliamentary elections, the NCP has undertaken initiatives for party expansion. As part of this process, leaders and activists from various parties and organisations are joining the NCP.

UP Bangladesh, a platform formed at the initiative of former leaders of Islami Chhatra Shibir, has dissolved its organisation and merged into the NCP.

Ali Ahsan Junaid, the convenor of the defunct UP Bangladesh, and Rafe Salman Rifat, its chief coordinator, are leading this process. Both are former presidents of the Dhaka University branch of Chhatra Shibir. Ali Ahsan Junaid was recently inducted as a member of the Political Board, the highest policy-making forum of the NCP.

Professor Kazi Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman of the Department of Political Science at Dhaka University believes that if the moral defeat of the Awami League continues, the NCP will have an opportunity to carve out its position as a new force.

However, to achieve this, the party must overcome the practical deviations from its centrist stance and render that position credible to the citizens, he stated.

“Despite preaching the principles of centrism, the alliance that the NCP has joined ahead of the elections is by no means a centrist alliance. The majority of the parties in the alliance, particularly Jamaat, desire Islamic governance according to their constitution. As a result, there is a contradiction between the NCP’s declaration of moderation and the pragmatic activities of its electoral alliance,” Mahbubur Rahman told Prothom Alo.

The political scientist further remarked that the acceptability enjoyed by NCP leaders following the July uprising has suffered a decline. The party’s future will now hinge upon the propagation of centrism, its credibility among the public, and the image of its leadership.

In the current Jatiya Sangsad, the NCP sits in the opposition alliance alongside Jamaat. Including two reserved seats for women, the NCP holds eight seats in parliament. On the other hand, including eight reserved seats, Jamaat holds 76.

Jamaat plays the role of the chief opposition, while the NCP is a key partner in the opposition alliance. Furthermore, NCP Convenor Nahid Islam has been nominated as the Opposition Chief Whip in parliament. In other words, by joining the alliance, the party has managed to carve out a conspicuous position in parliamentary politics.

However, the political cost of this alliance is by no means negligible. Ahead of the elections, the top leadership of the NCP faced an uncomfortable predicament regarding the alliance with Jamaat.

In protest against the decision to join the alliance, at least 17 leaders from leftist and centrist backgrounds resigned from the party. Despite this, the top leadership remained resolute in its decision to join the alliance.

A major portion of the leaders who resigned from the NCP have now associated themselves with three new political platforms. These platforms are the Network for People’s Action (NPA), Alternatives, and Gana Biplobi Udyog (Mass Revolutionary Initiative).

Apart from them, former NCP leaders Tasnim Jara, Khaled Saifullah, and Mushfiq Us Saleheen remain active independently. The likelihood of these leaders returning to the party is now slim.

Virtually abandoning efforts to repatriate the departed leaders, the NCP is now focusing on augmenting its organisational strength. Activists and leaders from various parties and organisations are being inducted.

Several individuals, including expelled BNP leader Ishrak Sarkar, have recently joined the NCP. However, according to party sources, a significant portion of those who have joined the NCP in Dhaka over the past two months are former leaders and activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir.

Changes have also permeated the internal politics of the NCP. The eight members who made it to parliament have now become pivotal to the party’s politics. Prior to the elections, four of them were members of the Political Board, the party’s highest policy-making forum. Post-elections, the remaining four were also inducted there in two phases. This has caused resentment among some of the leaders who failed to enter parliament.

Conversations with responsible leaders reveal that, for the time being, the NCP is attempting to maintain its distinct identity within the Jamaat alliance through separate programmes and statements. Their participation in the upcoming local government elections is also highly likely to be alliance-bound.

However, to illustrate that an independent stance can be maintained despite being in an alliance, party leaders now frequently cite the NCP’s position in parliament on 9 April.

On that day, a bill was introduced in parliament to codify the National Freedom Fighter Council (JAMUKA) Ordinance into law, retaining the names of the Muslim League, Jamaat-e-Islami, and Nizam-e-Islam Party as collaborators of the Pakistani occupation forces during the Liberation War.

While Jamaat raised objections to the bill, the NCP stated they had no objections. Leaders of the NCP claim that this stance proves the party is not a blind follower of Jamaat on all matters, despite being in the alliance.

Four months after the elections, the top-tier assessment within the NCP regarding the alliance is that the party has yet to attain its anticipated organisational strength. Consequently, it would have been difficult to ensure representation in parliament without entering an alliance.

In their view, the situation prior to the elections had escalated to a point where they had to align either with Jamaat or with the BNP. There is also an internal assessment within the party that aligning with the BNP would have put the NCP in an awkward position regarding the issue of reforms.

Commenting on this, NCP Joint Convenor Monira Sharmin told Prothom Alo, “There is hardly any party in Bangladesh that has not formed alliances with Jamaat under various nomenclatures. Those parties include secular or non-Islamist parties as well. If they are not branded as right-wing for entering an alliance with Jamaat, why should the NCP be given that tag?”

“The NCP comprises people of diverse ideologies and schools of thought. Entering an alliance before the elections became inevitable because we had organisational weaknesses. We had to engage in a monumental task like an election even before celebrating the first anniversary of our inception. Had there been no alliance, we were sceptical about having any representation in parliament. Furthermore, the BNP’s reluctance to implement reforms had created an apprehension, which is now palpable,” Monira Sharmin added.

The NCP is now in parliament, but holding seats in parliament and becoming a political alternative are entirely different matters.

In the words of Professor Mahbubur Rahman, the future of the NCP will depend on the credibility of its centrism and the image of its leadership.

Political reality dictates that although it has secured a place in parliament, the NCP’s struggle to become a true ‘alternative’ is far from over.