image source, Islami Andolon
After the Bangladesh Islamic Movement left the ’11 party electoral unity’ led by Jamaat-e-Islami, the question arises whether the attempt to bring the votes of the religious parties into ‘one box’ has failed.
However, in the political field of Bangladesh, the ‘disunity and conflict’ between the religious parties is so intense and visible that there is a discussion in the political arena about how possible it is for these parties to move forward in alliance.
According to Jamaat-e-Islami, it is still on the ‘one box policy’ and the party feels that the time to bring the ‘Islamist vote in one box’ is not yet over.
However, the Islamic movement says that the announcement by the Jamaat emir that he will not implement Shariah law when he comes to power has revealed the ideological distance between the two parties and this ‘ideological distance’ has ultimately become an obstacle in forming an electoral alliance.
Analysts, however, say that if there is no electoral unity, both the Jamaat and the Islamic Movement will suffer, but they have never been able to clarify on what basis it was said to bring ‘Islamist votes’ into one box with great disunity among themselves.
However, they also say that this effort has brought such parties to the negotiating table. As a result, they feel that even if they cannot form an alliance around this election, the effort will not die completely.
Incidentally, on Friday, Islami Andolan also announced the preparation of party candidates to take part in the election alone in 268 constituencies instead of joining Jamaat alliance.
Gazi Ataur Rahman, the spokesman of the party, said in the press conference that day, “Islamic movement decided to hold their own elections because there was concern about the attempt to unite the Islamist forces through the one box policy.”
image source, Islami Andolan Bangladesh
What causes tension and separation?
Efforts to form an alliance with the aim of bringing the votes of Islamic religious parties into one box in Bangladesh began soon after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024.
This initiative was taken from the side of Jamaat-e-Islami.
Then in January 2025, Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Shafiqur Rahman’s ‘courtesy meeting’ with Emir Syed Muhammad Rezaul Karim of Bangladesh, an Islamic movement known as Charmonai Pir, came into widespread discussion.
The leaders of the party then said that ‘in the situation after August 5th, we must forget our differences and work together’ – on this ‘theme’, they started ‘exchange of views’ with Islamic religious political parties and prominent people, whose main goal is the next parliamentary elections”.
As a continuation of this, eight Islamic parties including Jamaat, Islami Andolan formed a seat settlement front in the elections last nine months ago.
But less than a month before the parliamentary elections, the Islamic movement led by Syed Muhammad Rezaul Karim said that they are going to hold elections separately instead of being part of the Jamaat-led electoral alliance.
Amir of Islamic Movement Bangladesh, Syed Muhammad Rezaul Karim, known as Charmonai Pir, has been angered by the lack of discussion on the distribution of seats within the alliance and the lenient behavior of the Jamaat authorities.
The final announcement of the distribution of seats among the 10 parties of the Jamaat-e-Islami-led electoral alliance was held at a press conference on Thursday.
It was informed that a total of 253 seats have been agreed between the parties in the 11-party alliance.
Also, the Jamaat-e-Islami state will not implement Sharia law if it comes to power – a backlash was created within the Islamist movement after media reports quoted the party’s emir on Wednesday.
“They told us that if they come to power, they will implement Islamic law and Sharia law. But now they have moved away from there. It is difficult to trust them because they have moved away from the fundamentals,” Gazi Ataur Rahman, spokesman for the Islamic Movement, told BBC Bangla.
Jamaat’s Assistant Secretary General Ehsanul Mahbub Jubair told the media about this, “Amir Jamaat has said that Bangladesh will run according to the law that exists in Bangladesh, where the honor and dignity of all religions will be protected. This law is enough now”.
image source, BBC/Shyadul Islam
Stopped the politics of a box?
In the run-up to the election, a campaign was launched for Islamist votes. Comments such as ‘Vote for Paradise’ or ‘Heaven will last’ or ‘Vote for faith’ have been discussed and criticized for the past few days.
But in the meantime, Jamaat Ameer’s comments on Sharia law came to the media.
Gazi Ataur Rahman, Joint Secretary General and Spokesperson of the Islamic Movement, admitted that if there is no alliance, they will all suffer in some way or another, but “the correct course of Islam must be maintained. Because the simple people trust us. We have to pay the price for their faith and trust”.
Although some analysts think that in the conventional politics of Bangladesh, many parties, including BNP-Jamaat, outside the Awami League and its close left forces, are getting more and more votes from Islamists.
But this time, according to them, the context and dimension of this election is different, because Awami League and its close left forces are not in this election.
“They did not make it clear who the pro-Islamist voters really are and what they were thinking about bringing the pro-Islamist vote into one box. Although it was creating an emotion and it was causing some concern for the BNP. But in the end, Jamaat and the Islamic Movement will suffer because of the lack of an electoral alliance,” Sharif Muhammad, Islamic writer and political analyst, told BBC Bangla.
image source, MUNIR UZ ZAMANAFP via Getty Images
However, some argue that Islamist parties are less organized with the character of a political party in the true sense of the word.
Some groups are based only on murid, while some groups are individualistic and limited to a few places.
“Many parties are not clear about their capabilities. Many parties have little connection with the people. Even if the ‘one box’ policy is not implemented as the Islamic movement withdraws, the Jamaat or the Jamaat-led coalition will not suffer,” Salahuddin Muhammad Babar, political analyst and editor of daily Nayadigant, told BBC Bangla.
However, Sharif Muhammad says that if there is no electoral alliance, both the Jamaat and Islami Andolan will suffer and it will be seen that the candidates of both parties will face disaster due to small votes in some constituencies.
