A number of 30 leaders of the National Citizen Party (NCP) have formally objected to the party's reported move to forge an electoral alliance with the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami-led eight-party alliance, submitting a letter of protest to NCP Convener Nahid Islam.
The memorandum, titled "Principled objections to a potential alliance in light of the accountability of the July Uprising and party values", was sent amid reports that seat-sharing talks between the NCP and the Jamaat-led alliance are nearing completion.
Confirming the development, Mushfiq Us Saleheen, the first signatory to the letter, told The Business Standard at around 8pm on Saturday that the memorandum had been submitted to the party leadership.
Saleheen serves as the NCP's joint member secretary.
The memorandum states that the signatories strongly object to recent discussions on a possible political alliance or seat-sharing arrangement between the NCP and an eight-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami.
The letter urges the party leadership to give serious consideration to these concerns while determining alliance policy and to take a clear and firm position against entering into any political alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami.
It argues that political strategy must be shaped by policy principles, not the abandonment of those principles for short-term electoral gain.
According to the memorandum, the objection is rooted in the party's declared ideology, its historical responsibility following the July mass uprising, and questions of democratic morality.
It cites Jamaat-e-Islami's divisive political activities over the past year, including the role of its student wing Chhatra Shibir, allegations of infiltration and sabotage within other parties, efforts to blame the NCP for various incidents, the spread of misinformation and propaganda targeting the Bangladesh Gonotantrik Chhatra Songshod and student representatives, coordinated online attacks against female NCP members, and concerns over the rise of religion-centred social fascism.
The letter also highlights Jamaat-e-Islami's political history, particularly its anti-independence role during the 1971 Liberation War, alleged collaboration in genocide, and its stance on war-time crimes, describing these as fundamentally incompatible with the democratic spirit of Bangladesh and the core values of the NCP.
