Barely seven months after its launch as a political party, the National Citizen Party (NCP) is drawing more attention for its leaders’ foreign tours than for politics at home.
During the last one month alone, the party’s top brass visited Malaysia, China, and Japan, with a delegation still abroad – even as its organisational work inside Bangladesh remains incomplete, raising doubts about whether its lofty promises of “new politics” can take root.
The party, born out of the student-led July 2024 mass uprising, has been unable to form committees in all 64 districts and 495 upazilas of the country. So far, it has formed committees in 40 districts and in less than half of the upazilas.
Apart from sporadic courtyard meetings, the NCP has not staged any significant street political programmes in nearly six weeks. Its leaders have only attended a few seminars and meetings.
In addition, its student front, the Bangladesh Democratic Students’ Union (BAGSAS), suffered back-to-back defeats in two recently held university union polls, raising doubts about the party’s strength.
Political analysts say the NCP has strayed from its early pledges. Instead of making foreign visits, the party leaders should have focused on political activities all over the country, they opined.
“I wouldn’t call them complete failures, but had they stayed true to their promise of a new brand of politics, they could have done better,” said Prof Dilara Choudhury, former head of government and politics at Jahangirnagar University. She, however, added, “Expectations were high, but the party veered off course due to inexperience.”
NCP leaders claim the party has been making progress. “Every day new committees are being set up. It’s not possible to complete everything in just six months,” said NCP Joint Secretary (office) Saleh Uddin Sifat.
Foreign trips
Currently, the party’s Chief Organiser for the northern region Sarjis Alam, Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary, and Joint Chief Coordinator Mahbub Alam are on a visit to Japan.
They departed on 11 September at the invitation of the NCP Japan Diaspora Alliance and expatriates there, NCP sources said. The leaders are expected to return in a couple of days.
Earlier, party convener Nahid Islam led delegations to Malaysia and China in late August.
On 22 August, a high-level NCP delegation visited Malaysia for a three-day trip. Upon their return, party leaders travelled to China on 26 August for a four-day visit.
In reply to a question about why the party’s top brass is making so many foreign trips, NCP Joint Chief Coordinator Arifur Rahman Tuhin defended the trips, saying they are part of outreach to expatriates.
“There are nearly 10 million voters abroad. Our leaders are working with them,” he said, arguing, “Leaders from many other parties also travel abroad, but when NCP leaders do it, some raise questions with ill intent.”
But political critics say the gap between NCP’s lofty promises of “a new Bangladesh” and its limited domestic presence leaves many questioning whether the party can translate its early hype into real political clout.
