Can NCP progress while remaining aligned with Jamaat?

NCP senior joint convener Ariful Islam Adeeb told Prothom Alo, “Implementing the referendum mandate and the July Charter through party programmes and through the 11-party alliance by building a mass movement is now the NCP’s priority. The full implementation of the July Charter is essential to prevent the resurgence of a fascist system.”

Following the removal of the Awami League government during the July mass uprising, political parties held discussions with the interim government that later produced the July National Charter aimed at reforming the state structure.

The 11-party alliance alleges that the BNP, after assuming power, has moved away from implementing that charter. As a result, the alliance wants to continue pressuring the BNP.

In addition, the NCP plans to contest the upcoming local government elections as part of the alliance. The party’s policymakers believe local government elections provide an effective opportunity to expand the organisation at the grassroots level.

They think the party can strengthen its organisational foundation if it succeeds in electing a significant number of candidates to union councils, upazila councils, municipalities, and city corporations across the country.

Three senior NCP leaders, including two members of parliament, spoke about this strategy on condition of anonymity. They said the NCP’s principal political commitment is reforming the state system to eliminate fascism.

However, without expanding the party organisation, the NCP cannot pursue that objective in the long term. Yet the party’s organisational strength has still not reached the expected level. As a result, the NCP has, in many ways, become compelled to engage in alliance politics.

Before the 13th National Parliamentary Election, a section of the NCP objected to forming an alliance with Jamaat. However, a larger section supported the alliance. Subsequently, at least 17 central leaders resigned from the party, while several others became inactive in politics.

Despite the internal backlash, NCP policymakers remained firm on contesting the election as part of the Jamaat-led alliance. A number of 30 NCP candidates contested the election as nominees of the 11-party alliance.

Among them, party convener Nahid Islam, member secretary Akhtar Hossen, and four others won seats and now serve in parliament.

Reports suggest that a section of the NCP’s current leadership also opposes remaining allied with Jamaat. However, that faction appears to hold limited influence within the party.

Many people outside the party also regularly criticise the NCP for remaining in the alliance. Critics question whether the NCP can establish itself as an independent political force while staying aligned with Jamaat.

Some also frequently criticise the party on social media by highlighting that a section of NCP leaders was once involved with the politics of Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami.

Abdul Kader, who served as a coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement during the July mass uprising and gained prominence after announcing the nine-point demands, is among the strongest critics of the NCP’s alliance with Jamaat.

In a Facebook post on 22 April, he wrote, “If the NCP becomes a party outwardly but a ‘proxy wing’ internally, then what future does the NCP have as a political party?”