‘Not an ideological alliance’
National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam has said his party's alliance with eight parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami, is strictly an electoral arrangement and not based on any ideological alignment.
"In this current political situation, it is not possible for NCP to contest the elections alone. That is why we decided to form an alliance with eight like-minded parties," Nahid said at an urgent press conference at the NCP office on Sunday night.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Nahid said NCP's reform, justice, and anti-hegemony programmes will continue despite joining the alliance.
"This is not an ideological alliance; it is an electoral understanding. The NCP will continue to follow its goals and principles. For now, our focus is on electoral cooperation," he said.
Nahid explained that the NCP was preparing to contest elections independently and planned to field candidates in all 300 constituencies, but after Sharif Osman Hadi was killed, Bangladesh's political landscape has changed significantly.
"Through this incident, we realised that the forces of hegemonic aggression are still active in the country. They are still conspiring to derail the election," he said.
The NCP convener also said, "In this changed context, we feel that broader unity is necessary to ensure a fair and competitive election. With that urgency in mind, we have held discussions with Jamaat-e-Islami and its alliance of eight parties."
"NCP has agreed to the electoral understanding with them. We have decided that NCP and these eight parties will contest the election together," he said.
He said under the agreement, the selected candidates will submit their nomination forms. The NCP and its affiliates will campaign for them. Where the party has no candidates, it will support other alliance nominees.
On splits or resignations, Nahid said, "Participation in elections or staying in the party is a personal choice. Candidates will be chosen from those aligned with the party's objectives and with higher chances of winning."
Regarding the Gonotantrik Songskar Jote, Nahid said, "The Gonotantrik Songskar Jote no longer exists."
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