Ahead of the upcoming National Assembly elections, preliminary talks are underway for a four-party alliance led by the National Citizen Party (NCP). My Bangladesh (AB) Party, Bangladesh Rashtra Sankar Andolan and United People’s Bangladesh (UP Bangladesh) may be part of this alliance. Those concerned said that this alliance may be announced soon by uniting small parties against BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami.
According to NCP sources, informal talks have been going on between the leaders of these parties for the past few months. There is a consensus between the parties on the anti-fascist position and the July Charter. However, no final decision has been taken yet regarding the concession of electoral seats for the parties.
A top level leader of NCP, who did not wish to be named, said, ‘No third force outside the Awami League and BNP circle has been allowed to stand in the politics of Bangladesh. We are thinking of forming a third force under the leadership of NCP. So far talks are going on with AB Party, State Reform Movement and UP Bangladesh. Two or more groups may be added later.’
NCP joint convener Sarwar Tushar told Ajkar newspaper, ‘We want to form a third circle of youth with whom we have ideological similarities. Initial talks are going on with some political parties. But no final decision has been made yet. There was no talk about the concession of seats in the election.’
NCP has distanced itself from BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami on several issues including the July Charter. Attempts were made to bridge this gap through discussion, but it was not fruitful. So the new group of youth wants to come out of BNP, Jamaat and focus on small parties.
An NCP leader, who did not wish to reveal his name, said, ‘We once thought about BNP and Jamaat. But they have some narrowness and past achievements of their own. They are not willing to pay as much as we should get. They are also forgetting the memory of the July coup just a year ago. So we are insisting on building a new alliance under our own leadership instead of depending on them.’
Although the alliance talks are going on, most of the NCP leaders and workers want the party to hold elections alone. A large section of the party has also advocated single elections in various forums.
Last Sunday, the convener of the party, Nahid Islam, also said that the NCP is working with the aim of fielding a single candidate in 300 seats.
NCP chief coordinator Nasiruddin Patwari said on Monday night that a new alliance will be formed in the next few days. This alliance will be on behalf of women, on behalf of scholars, on behalf of the people of Bangladesh.
On the other hand, AB Party Chairman Mojibur Rahman Manju said in an exchange meeting in Feni last Sunday that a new alliance will be formed in the next few days in view of the 13th National Assembly elections. It has been decided to form this coalition with those who have played a role from the front as a party in the July mass uprising. The alliance will have a few parties including the National Citizen Party (NCP) along with the AB Party.
About the alliance, NCP joint convener Javed Rasin said, ‘We want to unite with the moderate parties, with whom we can be united on ideological ground. In this case, there may be a political alliance with the AB party or those who are being talked about. However, no final decision has been made in this regard yet. Final decision will be taken after discussion in our forum.’
