New alliance in continuation of July movement led by NCP

Putting an end to all speculations, a new political alliance is going to be formed in Bangladesh. This discussed alliance is not going to be led by BNP or Jamaat-e-Islami, but by the National Citizens Party (NCP), formed by the coordinators of the July movement. This alliance, consisting of a total of nine political parties, including AB Party and Gana Adhikar Parishad, has announced to directly compete with the big parties in the upcoming 13th National Parliament elections.

The top leaders of the parties have already held several rounds of meetings and the latest discussions are said to have been fruitful. Sources say that the new alliance will be formally announced soon after finalizing the unresolved issues. The National Citizens Party (NCP), which was launched on February 28 at the initiative of the coordinators of the July movement, was in discussions from the beginning. Although there were rumors of forming an alliance with BNP or Jamaat, it has now taken a completely different turn. Similarly, there have been talks of the AB Party, which split from Jamaat-e-Islami in 2020 as a reformist party, joining the BNP alliance, but that too is now losing its reality.

AB Party Chairman Mujibur Rahman Manju said, “We are not forming an alliance with BNP or Jamaat. Rather, we are creating a new political platform with the NCP and nine parties that support the July Movement. Two rounds of fruitful discussions have already taken place, and an announcement will be made once a few issues are finalized.”

According to information, this new alliance includes six left and progressive political parties—the ‘Ganatantr Mancha’. The parties are Nagorik Oikya, Gana Sanghati Andolan, Rastra Sanskar Andolan, Biplobi Workers Party, Bhashani Janshakti Party, and JSD. Apart from these, the remaining three parties are the Jatiya Nagorik Party (NCP), AB Party, and Gana Odhikar Parishad. This clearly shows that the new alliance is not just an Islamist or traditional opposition alliance, but is also uniting left, progressive, and new wave parties.

While NCP joint convener Monira Sharmin and Gana Odhikar Parishad president Nurul Haque Noor did not want to reveal details in front of the camera right now, both of them are optimistic about forming an alliance. According to them, this initiative will open a new direction in politics, which can gain the trust of the people as an alternative political platform outside the traditional two parties.

Sabbir Ahmed, a professor of political science at Dhaka University, considers the initiative timely. He said, “The emergence of a new alliance in vote-centric politics can have a significant impact on the political balance of Bangladesh. If they can enter the field in an organized manner, it will become a big challenge for the big parties.”