Abdul Kader, a former coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and a prominent face of the July uprising, claimed on Thursday that the National Citizens’ Party (NCP) is set to enter a seat-sharing arrangement with Jamaat-e-Islami for the upcoming national election.
In a Facebook post, Kader alleged the parties could formally announce a coalition as early as Friday. He said the understanding would give NCP “around 30 constituencies” after initially seeking 50, and would bar the party from fielding candidates in the remaining 270 seats. He further asserted that internal talks floated scenarios in which NCP convener Nahid Islam would be prime minister if the coalition won, or opposition leader if it did not.
NCP did not immediately respond to calls made to convener Nahid Islam, member-secretary Akhtar Hossain and other senior leaders. Jamaat-e-Islami also did not issue an immediate comment. The claims could not be independently verified.
Kader, not formally in NCP but closely associated with its founders from the student movement, ran for Dhaka University central students’ union vice president on an NCP-backed panel in September. His post came the same day NCP joint member-secretary Mir Arshadul Haque announced he was leaving the party, saying it was “on the wrong path.” Kader wrote that an NCP-Jamaat deal would “bury youth politics,” and argued the party was sacrificing grassroots expectations for a few leaders’ interests.
The 13th parliamentary election and a national referendum are scheduled for 12 February. NCP has entered the race with the Shapla Koli symbol, has named candidates in over a hundred seats, and has formed the “Democratic Reform Alliance” with AB Party and the State Reform Movement while continuing talks with other groups.