The Amar Bangladesh Party (AB Party) has joined the electoral seat-sharing understanding with the eight-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami, bringing the total number of parties in the arrangement to 11.
AB Party chairman Mojibur Rahman Monju on Monday evening told Prothom Alo over the phone that his party has joined the electoral understanding with Jamaat-e-Islami and that discussions are still ongoing.
Earlier, on Sunday, the National Citizen Party (NCP) and Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed-led Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) joined the eight-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami.
AB Party sources said that the party has submitted nomination papers in 70 constituencies to contest the 13th Jatiya Sangsad (national parliament) election. Among them, party chairman Mojibur Rahman Monju has filed his nomination from Feni-2 (Sadar); general secretary Asaduzzaman Fuad from Barishal-3 (Muladi–Babuganj); senior vice-chairman Major (retd.) Abdul Wahab Minar from Patuakhali-1 (Patuakhali Sadar, Dumki and Mirzaganj); joint general secretary Zobaier Ahmed Bhuiyan from Cumilla-5 (Burichang, Brahmanpara); joint general secretary Sani Abdul Haque from Dinajpur-6 (Birampur, Nawabganj, Hakimpur and Ghoraghat); and joint general secretary Nasrin Sultana Milli from Dhaka-10 (Dhanmondi, Kalabagan, New Market and Hazaribagh).
Political sources say that the Feni-2, Barishal-3 and Patuakhali-1 constituencies may be left to the AB Party as part of the seat-sharing arrangement, and discussions on this matter are continuing.
Prothom Alo correspondents report that in Feni-2, Jamaat-e-Islami had nominated its central Majlis-e-Shura member Liaqat Ali Bhuiyan as its candidate, while in Barishal-3 the party had nominated Zahir Uddin Muhammad Babar, ameer of Jamaat’s Barishal city unit. Neither of them had submitted nomination papers by the time the deadline expired on Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, in Patuakhali-1, Jamaat had nominated district unit ameer Md Nazmul Ahsan, who submitted his nomination papers on Sunday.
Political sources suggest that Jamaat’s candidate may withdraw from this constituency.
Earlier today, Jamaat-e-Islami’s assistant secretary general Abdul Halim told newspersons that another party was set to join the 10-party electoral understanding. The name of the party would be announced soon, he added.
Abdul Halim made the remarks at a press conference after submitting nomination papers on behalf of Jamaat-e-Islami’s ameer Shafiqur Rahman.
Central leaders of the party, led by assistant secretary general Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair, submitted the nomination papers at the office of the returning officer in Agargaon, Dhaka.
At the press conference, Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair said that due to the electoral understanding, the Dhaka-13 constituency had been left to Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis ameer Maulana Mamunul Haque. Jamaat had originally planned to field its central executive committee member Mobarak Hossain in that constituency.
He added that the seat-sharing arrangements among the 11 parties would be announced shortly.