Jatiya Party ‘crushed’

The Jatiya Party suffered a complete rout in the February 12 polls.

For the first time since the restoration of parliamentary democracy, not a single candidate of the party secured a seat, a stunning collapse that some political analysts say signals an ominous future for the party.

Of its 196 candidates, the highest number after the BNP, Islami Andolon Bangladesh and Jamaat-e-Islami, all but 20 lost their deposits. None even emerged as a principal contender.

The party, founded by HM Ershad, was also routed in Rangpur, considered its main stronghold. In the 2024 election, Jatiya Party secured 11 seats, its previous lowest tally since its formation in 1986.

Among its heavyweights, Chairman GM Quader and Secretary General Shamim Haider Patwary both finished third in their respective constituencies -- Rangpur-3 (city corporation and Sadar) and Gaibandha-1. Both lost to Jamaat-e-Islami candidates, with the BNP candidates finishing second.

Though the party faced an uphill battle going into the polls and its leaders claimed “election engineering”, analysts said the scale of its defeat reflects its eroded public connection and fading political identity.

“By aligning with Awami League over the past 18 years, Jatiya Party has lost its distinct identity,” political analyst Mohiuddin Ahmad told The Daily Star.

“The party became isolated from the people by playing a role in legitimising Awami League’s misrule and controversial elections,” he added.

Analysts also said over the past two decades, JP has become a leader-centric party, with activists and supporters gradually drifting to other parties -- a decline reflected in this election.

The AL was banned from contesting this election, and most parties in its 14-party alliance stayed out of the polls.

Moreover, heavyweight JP leaders such as Anisul Islam Mahmud, Mujibul Haque Chunnu, Ruhul Amin Hawlader and Kazi Firoz Rashid announced separate parties ahead of the election. However, they could not contest due to complications over symbols.

In the 11th parliamentary polls in 2018, JP bagged 23 seats. It secured 34 seats in the 10th general election in 2014, which was boycotted by the 18-party alliance led by BNP. JP won 27 seats in the 9th general election in 2008.

In the 8th general election in 2001, it won 14 seats, and in the 1996 polls, it secured 32. JP and most opposition parties boycotted the 6th general election on February 15, 1996. In the 5th general election in 1991, JP won 35 seats, its highest.

Political analysts said the party has historically maintained good relations with the AL. In the 1986 election held during Ershad’s rule, the BNP boycotted while AL participated. In 1996, after 21 years, AL returned to power with JP’s support. In 2006, JP joined the Awami League-led movement against the BNP-Jamaat alliance government and later contested the 2008 election in alliance with AL, becoming part of the government.

After the July uprising, JP’s central office in Kakrail was vandalised and set on fire several times. Like Awami League, the party faced pressure from the National Citizen Party, Jamaat-e-Islami and others to be banned.

Analysts said in northern districts including Rangpur, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Gaibandha and Nilphamari, there had long been sympathy among voters for Ershad’s party. Considering the plough symbol and Ershad’s appeal, it was assumed that GM Quader’s Jatiya Party would retain some ground in the greater Rangpur region. But the results overturned those calculations.

Rangpur division was once known as the party’s fortress. In 1991, the plough symbol won 17 of 22 seats in greater Rangpur; in 1996, it won 21; and in 2001, 13.

Ahead of the 13th parliamentary election, Ershad’s party faced another split. A new Jatiya Party was formed under Anisul Islam Mahmud’s leadership. Even during Ershad’s lifetime, the party split several times, but the faction led by him remained dominant.

Asked about the defeat, Secretary General Patwary said that in the last one and a half years, the party could not carry out organisational activities and was labelled a “collaborator of fascist Awami League”.

He alleged that the local administration, with Jamaat’s support, engaged in “election engineering” to defeat them.

“Can you believe that GM Quader and several of our senior leaders will come third in the election in their own constituencies? It was possible because of meticulous design by the local administration,” he alleged.

“We are collecting data from the local levels, and we will inform the nation about these anomalies through a press conference,” he added.

A senior JP leader admitted to The Daily Star that the party is facing an existential crisis.

Mahmud Alam, joint secretary of JP, said the party has almost no organisational presence at the grassroots.

“We have got the result we deserved,” he added.