Bangladesh’s youth-driven National Citizen Party (NCP) is facing a major internal crisis after forming an election alliance with the Islamist group Jamaat-e-Islami, a decision that has sparked resignations and raised doubts about the party’s future ahead of the February 12 national elections. The NCP emerged from the 2024 mass uprising led largely by Gen-Z activists, which forced long-time prime minister Sheikh Hasina from power. It positioned itself as a centrist, reformist alternative to Bangladesh’s traditional political forces. However, that identity is now under pressure after at least 30

Bangladesh’s youth-driven National Citizen Party (NCP) is facing a major internal crisis after forming an election alliance with the Islamist group Jamaat-e-Islami, a decision that has sparked resignations and raised doubts about the party’s future ahead of the February 12 national elections. The NCP emerged from the 2024 mass uprising led largely by Gen-Z activists, which forced long-time prime minister Sheikh Hasina from power. It positioned itself as a centrist, reformist alternative to Bangladesh’s traditional political forces. However, that identity is now under pressure after at least 30 senior party leaders openly opposed the alliance announced on Sunday, with several quitting in protest. Political analysts warn the move could seriously weaken the party. “The NCP’s strength was its clarity as a youth-based alternative,” said analyst H.M. Nazmul Alam, adding that internal disunity could be more damaging than an electoral defeat. Before the alliance, opinion polls predicted Jamaat would finish second behind the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), while the NCP was lagging in third place. Jamaat-e-Islami had been barred from contesting elections since 2013, after a court ruled that its registration conflicted with Bangladesh’s secular constitution. Restrictions were lifted in August 2024 by an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, making the Islamist party a key player in the upcoming vote. With the Awami League banned, the election has effectively become a BNP–Jamaat contest. NCP leader Nahid Islam, 27, defended the alliance as a necessary step to prevent violence and safeguard the election, following the recent killing of Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent figure in the uprising. He said the decision was approved by a majority within the party. The backlash has included high-profile resignations, notably Tasnim Jara, a doctor who left her career in Britain to join the NCP and is now running as an independent. Analysts say the alliance risks benefiting Jamaat more than the NCP, potentially erasing the party’s centrist identity. As Bangladesh heads toward the polls, the NCP’s struggle highlights the difficulty of transforming youth-led protest movements into lasting political forces. Source: Reuters

A little more informed. A little more connected.