Islami Andolan Bangladesh has left the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance over disputes on seat-sharing and shifting political priorities ahead of the 13th national polls.
The announcement came at a press conference at the party’s central office in Paltan at 3pm on Friday.
Islami Andolan’s Senior Joint Secretary General and spokesperson Gazi Ataur Rahman made the announcement on behalf of the party.
Speaking to journalists, he said the dispute was not solely about the number of constituencies offered. According to him, Jamaat had deviated from the original objectives behind forming the alliance, which aimed to unify Islamic parties under a single electoral platform to “establish good governance and Islamic rule”.
Gazi Ataur Rahman said Islami Andolan first proposed the “one ballot box” policy to consolidate Islamic votes nationwide, a strategy Jamaat later joined. However, he accused Jamaat of making unilateral decisions in the final stretch, including adding three new parties to the alliance without prior consultation.
He also alleged that Jamaat had prioritised power-centric politics over fairness, saying important information was withheld from Islami Andolan during negotiations.
After consultations with leaders and activists, Islami Andolan decided to leave the seat-sharing arrangement and contest the election independently.
The party initially bought nomination forms for candidates in 270 constituencies, though two were cancelled, leaving 268 candidates to run under the party banner.
Top party leaders attended Friday’s press conference.
On Thursday night, the 11-party alliance publicly announced its final seat-sharing deal despite Islami Andolan’s absence. The coalition still left 47 constituencies open for the party in the hope of an agreement.
Sources said both sides made last attempts until Thursday to reach a compromise. Jamaat reportedly offered 45 seats, while Islami Andolan demanded 60. Negotiations eventually collapsed.
The alliance originally consisted of Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, Nizam-e-Islam Party, Khelafat Majlis, Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan, Jatiya Ganotantrik Party (JAGPA) and Bangladesh Development Party, who joined forces earlier over the July Charter and other political issues.
On 28 December, National Citizen Party (NCP), Liberal Democratic Party led by Oli Ahmed, and Amar Bangladesh Party joined the coalition. Relations between Jamaat and Islami Andolan became strained shortly afterwards.
