National Citizen Party (NCP), formed by student organisers who led the July mass uprising, has lost political traction with Bangladesh’s two major forces — BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami — as both parties reassess their electoral calculations ahead of the next national election.
What began as a movement-backed political experiment has struggled to retain public attention. Organisational weaknesses, internal disputes and a series of controversies have pushed NCP to the margins, senior figures in both BNP and Jamaat told TIMES of Bangladesh.
While BNP and Jamaat had initially explored the possibility of an electoral understanding, neither party now views NCP as a priority. “There was public enthusiasm for the student leaders immediately after the uprising,” one senior BNP leader said. “But the party has not been able to convert that into organisational support. There is, frankly, no pressure to bring them into an alliance.”
NCP leaders reject the suggestion that they have been sidelined. They say the party is deliberately avoiding BNP and Jamaat and is instead preparing an alliance with two smaller groups — Amar Bangladesh Party (AB Party) and United Peoples Bangladesh (UP Bangladesh) — expected to be formalised within days.
Arifur Rahman Tuhin, the party’s joint chief coordinator, said that “95 percent of the senior leaders” opposed joining either of the two larger parties. “They do not want to inherit the BNP’s past controversies or Jamaat’s historical baggage,” he said. Asked whether NCP’s relevance had diminished, he responded simply, “At the moment, it is we who are choosing not to join them.”
BNP, however, is maintaining contact with two student advisers who played prominent roles during the July movement — a move seen as an attempt to preserve ties with the advisers while bypassing NCP itself. Both advisers have reportedly been assured of future opportunities if they align with BNP, including the possibility of parliamentary nominations.
One of them, Local Government Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan, has recently transferred his voter registration to Dhaka-10, fuelling speculation that he may resign from the advisory council to contest the seat on a BNP ticket. Similar rumours surround Information Adviser Mahfuz Alam. His father was recently elected president of a local BNP unit in Ramganj, Lakshmipur — a development viewed as politically significant.
The party has also reached out to families of protesters killed during the July uprising. In recent weeks, Mir Snigdho, the brother of slain protester Mir Mugdho, joined BNP — a move insiders say is part of a broader effort to build influence among victims’ families while reducing NCP’s bargaining power.
BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said NCP had held preliminary talks with BNP about a possible alliance, but “nothing was finalised”. He added, “Many parties approach us, but an alliance cannot be formed with everyone.”
Jamaat-e-Islami has also taken a cautious stance. While stating that it would welcome anyone who “embraces the spirit of the July movement”, party leaders say they are not pursuing a formal alliance with NCP.
Senior Jamaat figures believe NCP may attempt, at the last moment, to negotiate seat concessions from both BNP and Jamaat once the election schedule is announced. Whether Jamaat would consider such requests, they say, would depend on the broader political context.
“This is entirely NCP’s decision,” said Jamaat Assistant Secretary General AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad. “If they want to join, we are not shutting the door. But we are not actively seeking them either.”
NCP was launched on 28 February with considerable fanfare and the promise of a new political style rooted in the energy of last year’s uprising. But the party has since been dogged by allegations of extortion, internal indiscipline and public disputes involving its leaders.
For many young supporters who expected a clean break from traditional politics, these controversies have dulled early optimism. The party now faces the twin challenge of rebuilding credibility while finding relevance in a crowded opposition landscape increasingly shaped by tactical alliances.
Zainal Abedin Shishir, NCP’s joint member secretary, dismissed talk of declining relevance as “propaganda”, saying the party is preparing to launch a three-party alliance and is still in contact with leaders from larger opposition forces.
But with BNP and Jamaat focusing their attention elsewhere, NCP finds itself navigating a far narrower political space than it had hoped for when it emerged from last year’s street movement.
