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[🇧🇩] A New Political Party: National Citizen Party
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We’ll work for coalition candidate, whoever he is: Nahid
National Citizen Party (NCP) convenor Nahid Islam has said that although 47 nomination papers have been submitted on behalf of the party, the list is not yet final. Some additional nomination papers were submitted as a precautionary measure, taking into account possible errors and other...
en.prothomalo.com
We’ll work for coalition candidate, whoever he is: Nahid
Staff Correspondent Dhaka
Updated: 29 Dec 2025, 22: 51
NCP convener Nahid Islam addresses a press conference at the party’s temporary central office in Banglamotor, Dhaka on 29 December 2025 Screengrab of a video
National Citizen Party (NCP) convenor Nahid Islam has said that although 47 nomination papers have been submitted on behalf of the party, the list is not yet final.
Some additional nomination papers were submitted as a precautionary measure, taking into account possible errors and other considerations, he explained.
The final number of NCP candidates would become clear within the next few days, Nahid added.
The NCP convener made the remarks at a press conference held on Monday evening at the party’s temporary central office in Banglamotor, Dhaka.
The NCP is contesting the 13th Jatiya Sangsad (national parliament) election as part of an 11-party electoral alliance that includes Jamaat-e-Islami, based on seat-sharing arrangements among the coalition partners.
Although the NCP initially nominated candidates in 125 constituencies, the final number of seats in which it will field candidates will be lower.
Referring to this issue, a journalist asked how the party would manage the concerns of those who had initially received NCP nominations but may now be excluded.
In response, Nahid Islam said, “Leaders and activists of the NCP across the country, as well as those of our affiliated organisations, will work in favour of a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum, and regardless of who the coalition candidate is, we will all work together for that candidate. This is in the interest of the party. And, the political decision we have taken at this time is based on the opinion of the majority. Therefore, everyone will accept this decision in the interest of the party and the broader political interest of the present moment. Any personal sacrifices made will be duly recognised and evaluated by the party in due course.”
Explaining why additional nomination papers had been submitted, Nahid Islam reiterated that discussions were ongoing and that the exact number of constituencies in which the NCP would field candidates would be clarified through consultations in the coming days.
At the same press conference, it was announced that former adviser to the interim government Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain had joined the NCP.
Nahid Islam described Asif Mahmud, whom he referred to as a “frontline fighter” of the July uprising, as a historic addition to the party, expressing hope that his inclusion would help advance the NCP’s goals and objectives.
Nahid Islam further announced that following his joining, Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain would assume the role of spokesperson for the NCP, in addition to being appointed head of the party’s election management committee.
Sitting beside Nahid Islam at the press conference, Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain said that in the upcoming election he would work to ensure the victory of his fellow “comrades” from the uprising.
“As long as I can contribute to sending many more of our comrades from the July mass uprising to parliament, rather than focusing on any single individual entering parliament, and can fulfil my responsibilities properly, there can be no greater success than that,” he said.
Asif Mahmud also called on all forces that took part in the July uprising to remain united.
He expressed optimism that Bangladesh would successfully transition along a democratic path without violence. “I will continue to work towards this democratic transition.”
Calling on voters to cast a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum, Asif Mahmud said, “There will be two ballots in the election. On one ballot, you will elect your MP and the government, who will remain in office for five years. Whether they will keep their commitments or not remains uncertain. But if you vote ‘yes’ in the referendum and pass these reforms, I believe Bangladesh will advance by 100 years.”
Nahid Islam also informed the press that NCP chief coordinator Nasiruddin Patwari had stepped down from the party’s election management committee due to his candidacy in the election.
Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain has been appointed to replace him in that role. Nahid added that Asif Mahmud has also been included in the party’s highest political council.
Staff Correspondent Dhaka
Updated: 29 Dec 2025, 22: 51
NCP convener Nahid Islam addresses a press conference at the party’s temporary central office in Banglamotor, Dhaka on 29 December 2025 Screengrab of a video
National Citizen Party (NCP) convenor Nahid Islam has said that although 47 nomination papers have been submitted on behalf of the party, the list is not yet final.
Some additional nomination papers were submitted as a precautionary measure, taking into account possible errors and other considerations, he explained.
The final number of NCP candidates would become clear within the next few days, Nahid added.
The NCP convener made the remarks at a press conference held on Monday evening at the party’s temporary central office in Banglamotor, Dhaka.
The NCP is contesting the 13th Jatiya Sangsad (national parliament) election as part of an 11-party electoral alliance that includes Jamaat-e-Islami, based on seat-sharing arrangements among the coalition partners.
Although the NCP initially nominated candidates in 125 constituencies, the final number of seats in which it will field candidates will be lower.
Referring to this issue, a journalist asked how the party would manage the concerns of those who had initially received NCP nominations but may now be excluded.
In response, Nahid Islam said, “Leaders and activists of the NCP across the country, as well as those of our affiliated organisations, will work in favour of a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum, and regardless of who the coalition candidate is, we will all work together for that candidate. This is in the interest of the party. And, the political decision we have taken at this time is based on the opinion of the majority. Therefore, everyone will accept this decision in the interest of the party and the broader political interest of the present moment. Any personal sacrifices made will be duly recognised and evaluated by the party in due course.”
Explaining why additional nomination papers had been submitted, Nahid Islam reiterated that discussions were ongoing and that the exact number of constituencies in which the NCP would field candidates would be clarified through consultations in the coming days.
At the same press conference, it was announced that former adviser to the interim government Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain had joined the NCP.
Nahid Islam described Asif Mahmud, whom he referred to as a “frontline fighter” of the July uprising, as a historic addition to the party, expressing hope that his inclusion would help advance the NCP’s goals and objectives.
Nahid Islam further announced that following his joining, Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain would assume the role of spokesperson for the NCP, in addition to being appointed head of the party’s election management committee.
Sitting beside Nahid Islam at the press conference, Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain said that in the upcoming election he would work to ensure the victory of his fellow “comrades” from the uprising.
“As long as I can contribute to sending many more of our comrades from the July mass uprising to parliament, rather than focusing on any single individual entering parliament, and can fulfil my responsibilities properly, there can be no greater success than that,” he said.
Asif Mahmud also called on all forces that took part in the July uprising to remain united.
He expressed optimism that Bangladesh would successfully transition along a democratic path without violence. “I will continue to work towards this democratic transition.”
Calling on voters to cast a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum, Asif Mahmud said, “There will be two ballots in the election. On one ballot, you will elect your MP and the government, who will remain in office for five years. Whether they will keep their commitments or not remains uncertain. But if you vote ‘yes’ in the referendum and pass these reforms, I believe Bangladesh will advance by 100 years.”
Nahid Islam also informed the press that NCP chief coordinator Nasiruddin Patwari had stepped down from the party’s election management committee due to his candidacy in the election.
Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain has been appointed to replace him in that role. Nahid added that Asif Mahmud has also been included in the party’s highest political council.
Saif
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Is the NCP becoming what it once rejected?
The National Citizen Party (NCP) was born with a claim that it would not practise politics as usual.
Is the NCP becoming what it once rejected?
The National Citizen Party (NCP) was born with a claim that it would not practise politics as usual. Emerging from the ashes of the July uprising, it asked to be seen as a break from the old habits of convenience and compromise, pledging to distinguish itself through its political language, practice, and a sharper sense of responsibility.
That claim now faces an existential test.
Speculations swirling around a potential Jamaat-NCP alliance finally ended on Sunday afternoon when, at a press conference at the National Press Club, Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman officially announced a new electoral front. The NCP, alongside Colonel (Retd.) Oli Ahmed's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), has now joined Jamaat's existing coalition—a definitive moment of reckoning for NCP.
A series of developments leading to the formal announcement has turned this coalition into an existential crisis for the party. Earlier, Tasnim Jara, a highly visible leader of NCP, resigned from her post as senior joint secretary to contest the Dhaka-9 constituency as an independent. The crisis then deepened with the resignation of Tajnuva Jabeen, a joint convener, and also a formal letter from 30 central committee members opposing any political alliance or seat-sharing arrangement with Jamaat.
Seat-sharing is not unusual in Bangladesh's politics. Elections are fought constituency by constituency, and any success depends on organisation, polling agents, and the capacity to protect votes. New parties often struggle because such structures take years to build. From a narrow electoral perspective, alliances can appear practical, even necessary. But the NCP did not enter politics asking to be judged by that standard alone.
Since its inception, NCP presented itself as the political expression. Its leaders spoke against shortcuts, recycled alignments, and moral ambiguity. They promised a new arrangement, repeatedly invoking "noya bondobosto" as a governing principle. That positioning mattered. It is why many young people, first-time participants, and politically unaffiliated citizens placed their trust in the party. The question is: what has changed then?
The official announcement validates the disturbing allegations made by Tajnuva Jabeen in a Facebook post upon her resignation. In it, she argued that the drastic cut in nominations, from 125 to a mere 30-40, was not an emergency measure, but a trap. The timing of Sunday's press conference—just a day before the final nomination deadline—confirms this view. By stalling the announcement until the eleventh hour, the NCP leadership effectively checkmated their own aspirants. Candidates who spent months campaigning, believing they were part of a nationwide effort to contest all seats, have been abandoned with no time to regroup as independents.
This procedural play is, in many ways, more damaging than the ideological one. As Jabeen pointed out, trust matters more than ideology. Inviting nominations with public fanfare, only to discard grassroots organisers in favour of a deal yielding fewer seats than even smaller Islamist factions are negotiating, signals a deep betrayal. It suggests the "July force" was willing to sacrifice the aspirations of the many to secure safe passage for a select few at the top.
The alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami also carries a weight that goes far beyond seat arithmetic. Jamaat's opposition to independence in 1971 and its role during the Liberation War are part of Bangladesh's mainstream political history. That history and resultant trust gap cannot be neutralised through electoral mathematics alone.
Tasnim Jara's decision brings the evolving tension into sharp focus. Announcing her independent candidacy, she acknowledged the disadvantages of running without party infrastructure, an organised worker base, or institutional access to security and administration. Yet she chose that path, citing her commitment to a new political culture and the promise she had made to voters. Her exit, alongside Jabeen's, also exposes a widening gender fault line. Reports suggest that other women leaders in senior positions feel similarly alienated. For a party that prided itself on the inclusive spirit of the barricades, the quiet and potentially growing exodus of women leaders represents a serious failure of representation.
The NCP central committee letter also makes it impossible to dismiss the issue as personal dissent. The 30 signatories invoke the party's declared ideology, the historical responsibility of the July uprising, and democratic ethics. They explicitly cite Jamaat's political past, particularly its role in 1971, as incompatible with the NCP's values. The letter further accused the prospective partner of engaging in espionage and sabotage within other parties and of conducting character assassination campaigns against the NCP's own female members through online platforms. That such warnings from leaders have been ignored is quite telling about the direction of the party.
Funding adds another layer of complications. The NCP presented itself as a citizen-funded alternative to patronage politics. Crowdfunding is not just a financial mechanism here; it is a political contract. Many contributors donated on the assumption that the party would not compromise with forces they consider historically and morally discredited. If the party now moves in a direction that violates that understanding, the cost may extend well beyond this election. Warnings came from within the broader July movement as well. Former coordinators like Abdul Kader cautioned that any alliance could damage the future of youth politics.
The NCP claimed to represent a new arrangement. Instead, it has silenced its own aspirants through procedural traps, trading its political promise for short-term expediency. The shapla koli has now officially been planted in Jamaat's garden. What will it do next?
Arafat Rahaman is a journalist at The Daily Star.
The National Citizen Party (NCP) was born with a claim that it would not practise politics as usual. Emerging from the ashes of the July uprising, it asked to be seen as a break from the old habits of convenience and compromise, pledging to distinguish itself through its political language, practice, and a sharper sense of responsibility.
That claim now faces an existential test.
Speculations swirling around a potential Jamaat-NCP alliance finally ended on Sunday afternoon when, at a press conference at the National Press Club, Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman officially announced a new electoral front. The NCP, alongside Colonel (Retd.) Oli Ahmed's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), has now joined Jamaat's existing coalition—a definitive moment of reckoning for NCP.
A series of developments leading to the formal announcement has turned this coalition into an existential crisis for the party. Earlier, Tasnim Jara, a highly visible leader of NCP, resigned from her post as senior joint secretary to contest the Dhaka-9 constituency as an independent. The crisis then deepened with the resignation of Tajnuva Jabeen, a joint convener, and also a formal letter from 30 central committee members opposing any political alliance or seat-sharing arrangement with Jamaat.
Seat-sharing is not unusual in Bangladesh's politics. Elections are fought constituency by constituency, and any success depends on organisation, polling agents, and the capacity to protect votes. New parties often struggle because such structures take years to build. From a narrow electoral perspective, alliances can appear practical, even necessary. But the NCP did not enter politics asking to be judged by that standard alone.
Since its inception, NCP presented itself as the political expression. Its leaders spoke against shortcuts, recycled alignments, and moral ambiguity. They promised a new arrangement, repeatedly invoking "noya bondobosto" as a governing principle. That positioning mattered. It is why many young people, first-time participants, and politically unaffiliated citizens placed their trust in the party. The question is: what has changed then?
The official announcement validates the disturbing allegations made by Tajnuva Jabeen in a Facebook post upon her resignation. In it, she argued that the drastic cut in nominations, from 125 to a mere 30-40, was not an emergency measure, but a trap. The timing of Sunday's press conference—just a day before the final nomination deadline—confirms this view. By stalling the announcement until the eleventh hour, the NCP leadership effectively checkmated their own aspirants. Candidates who spent months campaigning, believing they were part of a nationwide effort to contest all seats, have been abandoned with no time to regroup as independents.
This procedural play is, in many ways, more damaging than the ideological one. As Jabeen pointed out, trust matters more than ideology. Inviting nominations with public fanfare, only to discard grassroots organisers in favour of a deal yielding fewer seats than even smaller Islamist factions are negotiating, signals a deep betrayal. It suggests the "July force" was willing to sacrifice the aspirations of the many to secure safe passage for a select few at the top.
The alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami also carries a weight that goes far beyond seat arithmetic. Jamaat's opposition to independence in 1971 and its role during the Liberation War are part of Bangladesh's mainstream political history. That history and resultant trust gap cannot be neutralised through electoral mathematics alone.
Tasnim Jara's decision brings the evolving tension into sharp focus. Announcing her independent candidacy, she acknowledged the disadvantages of running without party infrastructure, an organised worker base, or institutional access to security and administration. Yet she chose that path, citing her commitment to a new political culture and the promise she had made to voters. Her exit, alongside Jabeen's, also exposes a widening gender fault line. Reports suggest that other women leaders in senior positions feel similarly alienated. For a party that prided itself on the inclusive spirit of the barricades, the quiet and potentially growing exodus of women leaders represents a serious failure of representation.
The NCP central committee letter also makes it impossible to dismiss the issue as personal dissent. The 30 signatories invoke the party's declared ideology, the historical responsibility of the July uprising, and democratic ethics. They explicitly cite Jamaat's political past, particularly its role in 1971, as incompatible with the NCP's values. The letter further accused the prospective partner of engaging in espionage and sabotage within other parties and of conducting character assassination campaigns against the NCP's own female members through online platforms. That such warnings from leaders have been ignored is quite telling about the direction of the party.
Funding adds another layer of complications. The NCP presented itself as a citizen-funded alternative to patronage politics. Crowdfunding is not just a financial mechanism here; it is a political contract. Many contributors donated on the assumption that the party would not compromise with forces they consider historically and morally discredited. If the party now moves in a direction that violates that understanding, the cost may extend well beyond this election. Warnings came from within the broader July movement as well. Former coordinators like Abdul Kader cautioned that any alliance could damage the future of youth politics.
The NCP claimed to represent a new arrangement. Instead, it has silenced its own aspirants through procedural traps, trading its political promise for short-term expediency. The shapla koli has now officially been planted in Jamaat's garden. What will it do next?
Arafat Rahaman is a journalist at The Daily Star.
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NCP joint member secy Arif Sohel quits party
National Citizen Party’s joint member secretary Arif Sohel resigned from the party, saying it had failed to translate the July Uprising into an independent political force capable of challenging the country’s entrenched parties...
www.newagebd.net
NCP joint member secy Arif Sohel quits party
JU Correspondent 01 January, 2026, 00:24
National Citizen Party’s joint member secretary Arif Sohel resigned from the party, saying it had failed to translate the July Uprising into an independent political force capable of challenging the country’s entrenched parties.
In a statement circulated on social media on Wednesday, Arif said the popular mobilisation that erupted in July briefly forged a new ‘political community’ cutting across party lines, religious and social divisions, but that the momentum dissipated amid bureaucratic resistance and foreign influence.
‘The spontaneous mass awakening that emerged in July could not be institutionalised,’ Arif said, adding that the NCP ‘failed to organise the new mass politics and establish itself as a genuine third force’.
He said the movement came close to a democratic revolution in early August but instead ended in what he described as a ‘negotiated settlement’ after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina left the country with what he termed a ‘safe exit’, averting an armed confrontation.
Arif blamed the role of the bureaucracy, foreign powers and their domestic allies for undermining the unity seen during the protests and enabling traditional political parties to reassert themselves.
‘Division has returned, old power-sharing politics have been restored, and the state has once again turned against the people,’ he said.
The NCP on Sunday joined the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami-led electoral alliance ahead of the next general elections, scheduled for February 12 mid formal objections from at least 30 leaders of the party. NCP leader Tajnuva Jabeen on Sunday announced her resignation as a joint convener of the party, objecting to the party’s move to ally with the Jamaat.
Earlier on Saturday, another NCP leader Tasnim Jara resigned as the party’s senior joint member secretary and announced that she would contest the election as an independent candidate for the Dhaka-9 constituency.
Announcing his resignation from the NCP’s central committee, Arif said he and his associates would step outside conventional party politics and continue their struggle for democratic rights alongside ordinary citizens.
The National Citizen Party has not yet issued an official response to his resignation.
Arif previously served as convener of the Jahangirnagar University unit of the Student Movement Against Discrimination, a platform that played a key role in organising the July 2024 uprising against the government of Sheikh Hasina.
He was placed on a six-day remand on July 29, 2024, in connection with a case over vandalism at Setu Bhaban.
Following the ouster of Hasina on August 5 in 2024 and the subsequent formation of the NCP, Arif was appointed joint member secretary of the party.
JU Correspondent 01 January, 2026, 00:24
National Citizen Party’s joint member secretary Arif Sohel resigned from the party, saying it had failed to translate the July Uprising into an independent political force capable of challenging the country’s entrenched parties.
In a statement circulated on social media on Wednesday, Arif said the popular mobilisation that erupted in July briefly forged a new ‘political community’ cutting across party lines, religious and social divisions, but that the momentum dissipated amid bureaucratic resistance and foreign influence.
‘The spontaneous mass awakening that emerged in July could not be institutionalised,’ Arif said, adding that the NCP ‘failed to organise the new mass politics and establish itself as a genuine third force’.
He said the movement came close to a democratic revolution in early August but instead ended in what he described as a ‘negotiated settlement’ after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina left the country with what he termed a ‘safe exit’, averting an armed confrontation.
Arif blamed the role of the bureaucracy, foreign powers and their domestic allies for undermining the unity seen during the protests and enabling traditional political parties to reassert themselves.
‘Division has returned, old power-sharing politics have been restored, and the state has once again turned against the people,’ he said.
The NCP on Sunday joined the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami-led electoral alliance ahead of the next general elections, scheduled for February 12 mid formal objections from at least 30 leaders of the party. NCP leader Tajnuva Jabeen on Sunday announced her resignation as a joint convener of the party, objecting to the party’s move to ally with the Jamaat.
Earlier on Saturday, another NCP leader Tasnim Jara resigned as the party’s senior joint member secretary and announced that she would contest the election as an independent candidate for the Dhaka-9 constituency.
Announcing his resignation from the NCP’s central committee, Arif said he and his associates would step outside conventional party politics and continue their struggle for democratic rights alongside ordinary citizens.
The National Citizen Party has not yet issued an official response to his resignation.
Arif previously served as convener of the Jahangirnagar University unit of the Student Movement Against Discrimination, a platform that played a key role in organising the July 2024 uprising against the government of Sheikh Hasina.
He was placed on a six-day remand on July 29, 2024, in connection with a case over vandalism at Setu Bhaban.
Following the ouster of Hasina on August 5 in 2024 and the subsequent formation of the NCP, Arif was appointed joint member secretary of the party.
Saif
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Dissenters warn Jamaat alliance risks NCP identity
Dissenting leaders of the National Citizen Party, including those who quit the party or withdrew from the upcoming Jatiya Sangsad polls race, warned that an electoral alliance with the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami could erase the party’s independent political identity...
www.newagebd.net
Dissenters warn Jamaat alliance risks NCP identity
Staff Correspondent 02 January, 2026, 00:47
Dissenting leaders of the National Citizen Party, including those who quit the party or withdrew from the upcoming Jatiya Sangsad polls race, warned that an electoral alliance with the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami could erase the party’s independent political identity.
They said that the NCP’s tilt towards the Jamaat had also exposed some of the incumbent leaders’ legacy with Islami Chhatra Shibir, the Jamaat’s student wing.
Protesting against the alliance, at least nine central leaders resigned from the party as of Thursday.
Mushfiq us Salehin, a founder-member and joint member secretary of the NCP was the latest in a row who submitted his resignation letter to party convener Nahid Islam on Thursday.
The previous day, another joint convener Khalid Saifullah resigned from the party.
His wife and NCP senior joint member secretary Tasnim Jara also quit on December 27, one day before party convener Nahid Islam announced NCP’s alliance with the Jamaat.
Since December 26, at least nine central leaders of the NCP resigned from the party.
Although the Jamaat-led alliance has yet to announce its final list of candidates, several media reports said that it would accommodate around 30 NCP nominees.
Former and dissenting NCP leaders alleged that most of those shortlisted JS aspirants had previous affiliations with Shibir.
On December 10, NCP convener Nahid Islam announced 125 names for primary nomination to contest the JS polls.
Several NCP leaders, pointing out that only Zobairul Hasan Arif, among the nine candidates nominated in Chattogram constituencies, was accommodated in the Jamaat-led alliance, leaving out other dedicated activists who played crucial role in the 2024 July uprising.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, they claimed that Arif’s alleged Shibir links had helped him secure his candidature.
Talking to New Age on Wednesday, Arif said, ‘During my school years, I was involved with Kishore Kantha through Chhatra Shibir. I had also links with different student organisations, including Chhatra Dal.’
‘While studying for my master’s degree, I was in contact with Chhatra Federation and some other organisations as well. However, I did not hold any post or position in any of these organisations,’ he further said.
The rift in the NCP deepened after 32 party leaders on December 27 submitted a memorandum to party convener Nahid Islam opposing the alliance.
A day later, 170 other leaders sent a counter-memorandum expressing support to the coalition.
The latter group stated that if the NCP chose to enter into an electoral alliance in consideration of party, national and democratic interests, the signatories would extend full support.
NCP joint member secretary Joynal Abedin Shishir confirmed the matter to New Age.
The 32 dissenters, in their memorandum, accused the Jamaat and Shibir of divisive politics, espionage and sabotage within other parties, rigging student union elections, and spreading false narratives since the July uprising.
Mushfiq was among the dissenters who signed the memorandum.
Confirming his resignation, he told New Age on Thursday that he had tried to discharge his responsibilities with integrity but could not support NCP’s decision to join a 10-party alliance led by the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
‘The decision conflicts with the party’s core principles,’ he said.
In the memorandum, the dissenters recalled repeated assurances by chief coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary that the NCP would contest in all 300 seats independently.
The memorandum noted that the party had sold nomination forms to about 1,500 aspirants nationwide and announced 125 primary nominees on December 12.
Protesting against the alliance with the Jamaat, several nominated candidates, including Mir Arshadul Hoque for Chattogram-16, Tasnim Jara for Dhaka-9, Tajnuva Jabeen for Dhaka-17, Abu Kashem for Feni-3, and Monjila Jhuma for the Khagrachari constituency, resigned from the party.
‘The NCP is being led down a wrong path in history, undermining its goal of creating a new wave of politics,’ Arshadul told New Age.
Meanwhile, senior joint convener Samantha Sharmin, though not resigning, warned on social media that aligning with an ‘unreliable ally’ like the Jamaat would make the NCP to pay a heavy price.
Tasnim Jara submitted her nomination papers as an independent candidate for Dhaka-9.
Joint convener Nusrat Tabassum announced that she would refrain from party activities while member secretary Arif Sohel and farmers wing chief coordinator Azad Khan Bhasani resigned.
Arif Sohel commented that the NCP had failed to turn the past year’s mass uprising into an independent political force capable of challenging entrenched parties.
In a statement circulated on Wednesday, he said that the July mobilisation briefly created a new ‘political community’ cutting across party and social divides, but that momentum dissipated amid bureaucratic resistance and foreign influence.
‘The spontaneous mass awakening could not be institutionalised,’ he said, adding that the NCP failed to emerge as a genuine third force.
Arif previously served as the convener of the Jahangirnagar University unit of the Student Movement Against Discrimination, which played a key role in organising the July 2024 uprising against the Sheikh Hasina government.
NCP member secretary Akhtar Hossen was not available for comments despite several attempts with phone calls and text messages since December 27.
Staff Correspondent 02 January, 2026, 00:47
Dissenting leaders of the National Citizen Party, including those who quit the party or withdrew from the upcoming Jatiya Sangsad polls race, warned that an electoral alliance with the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami could erase the party’s independent political identity.
They said that the NCP’s tilt towards the Jamaat had also exposed some of the incumbent leaders’ legacy with Islami Chhatra Shibir, the Jamaat’s student wing.
Protesting against the alliance, at least nine central leaders resigned from the party as of Thursday.
Mushfiq us Salehin, a founder-member and joint member secretary of the NCP was the latest in a row who submitted his resignation letter to party convener Nahid Islam on Thursday.
The previous day, another joint convener Khalid Saifullah resigned from the party.
His wife and NCP senior joint member secretary Tasnim Jara also quit on December 27, one day before party convener Nahid Islam announced NCP’s alliance with the Jamaat.
Since December 26, at least nine central leaders of the NCP resigned from the party.
Although the Jamaat-led alliance has yet to announce its final list of candidates, several media reports said that it would accommodate around 30 NCP nominees.
Former and dissenting NCP leaders alleged that most of those shortlisted JS aspirants had previous affiliations with Shibir.
On December 10, NCP convener Nahid Islam announced 125 names for primary nomination to contest the JS polls.
Several NCP leaders, pointing out that only Zobairul Hasan Arif, among the nine candidates nominated in Chattogram constituencies, was accommodated in the Jamaat-led alliance, leaving out other dedicated activists who played crucial role in the 2024 July uprising.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, they claimed that Arif’s alleged Shibir links had helped him secure his candidature.
Talking to New Age on Wednesday, Arif said, ‘During my school years, I was involved with Kishore Kantha through Chhatra Shibir. I had also links with different student organisations, including Chhatra Dal.’
‘While studying for my master’s degree, I was in contact with Chhatra Federation and some other organisations as well. However, I did not hold any post or position in any of these organisations,’ he further said.
The rift in the NCP deepened after 32 party leaders on December 27 submitted a memorandum to party convener Nahid Islam opposing the alliance.
A day later, 170 other leaders sent a counter-memorandum expressing support to the coalition.
The latter group stated that if the NCP chose to enter into an electoral alliance in consideration of party, national and democratic interests, the signatories would extend full support.
NCP joint member secretary Joynal Abedin Shishir confirmed the matter to New Age.
The 32 dissenters, in their memorandum, accused the Jamaat and Shibir of divisive politics, espionage and sabotage within other parties, rigging student union elections, and spreading false narratives since the July uprising.
Mushfiq was among the dissenters who signed the memorandum.
Confirming his resignation, he told New Age on Thursday that he had tried to discharge his responsibilities with integrity but could not support NCP’s decision to join a 10-party alliance led by the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
‘The decision conflicts with the party’s core principles,’ he said.
In the memorandum, the dissenters recalled repeated assurances by chief coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary that the NCP would contest in all 300 seats independently.
The memorandum noted that the party had sold nomination forms to about 1,500 aspirants nationwide and announced 125 primary nominees on December 12.
Protesting against the alliance with the Jamaat, several nominated candidates, including Mir Arshadul Hoque for Chattogram-16, Tasnim Jara for Dhaka-9, Tajnuva Jabeen for Dhaka-17, Abu Kashem for Feni-3, and Monjila Jhuma for the Khagrachari constituency, resigned from the party.
‘The NCP is being led down a wrong path in history, undermining its goal of creating a new wave of politics,’ Arshadul told New Age.
Meanwhile, senior joint convener Samantha Sharmin, though not resigning, warned on social media that aligning with an ‘unreliable ally’ like the Jamaat would make the NCP to pay a heavy price.
Tasnim Jara submitted her nomination papers as an independent candidate for Dhaka-9.
Joint convener Nusrat Tabassum announced that she would refrain from party activities while member secretary Arif Sohel and farmers wing chief coordinator Azad Khan Bhasani resigned.
Arif Sohel commented that the NCP had failed to turn the past year’s mass uprising into an independent political force capable of challenging entrenched parties.
In a statement circulated on Wednesday, he said that the July mobilisation briefly created a new ‘political community’ cutting across party and social divides, but that momentum dissipated amid bureaucratic resistance and foreign influence.
‘The spontaneous mass awakening could not be institutionalised,’ he said, adding that the NCP failed to emerge as a genuine third force.
Arif previously served as the convener of the Jahangirnagar University unit of the Student Movement Against Discrimination, which played a key role in organising the July 2024 uprising against the Sheikh Hasina government.
NCP member secretary Akhtar Hossen was not available for comments despite several attempts with phone calls and text messages since December 27.
