The Jamaat-e-Islami-led electoral alliance shared seats among itself on Thursday night without its key ally, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, signalling a crack in the alliance with the parliamentary elections only four weeks away.
Alliance members distributed seats among 10 parties at a press conference held at the Diploma Engineers Institution auditorium in Kakrail. Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher made the announcement on behalf of the alliance. Repeated attempts to convince Islami Andolan Bangladesh proved futile.
The exclusion of Islami Andolan Bangladesh, the second major party after Jamaat, from the alliance would be a major blow, as the party has a support base across the country.
Under the seat-sharing plan, Jamaat gets 179 seats, the National Citizen Party (NCP) 30 seats, Mamunul Haque’s Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis 20 seats, the Ahmad Abdul Kader-led Khelafat Majlis 10 seats, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) seven seats, the Bangladesh Development Party two seats, the Nezame Islam Party two seats, and the AB Party three seats.
Although Islami Andolan Bangladesh, led by Syed Mohammad Rezaul Karim, better known as Charmonai Pir, refrained from attending the press conference, 47 seats have been kept vacant. It is believed that these seats have been reserved for the party. No seats have been allocated to the Khelafat Andolan or the Jatiya Ganatantrik Party (Jagpa).
Responding to questions after the press conference, Jamaat Ameer Shafiqur Rahman said they were in regular contact with Islami Andolan Bangladesh. “The party is strengthening its internal understanding. We hope it will remain with us,” he said.
Jamaat’s Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher, LDP Chairman retired Colonel Oli Ahmed, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis Ameer Mamunul Haque, NCP Convener Nahid Islam, Jagpa Co-Vice President Rashed Pradhan, Bangladesh Development Party Chairman Anwarul Islam Chand, AB Party Chairman Mujibur Rahman Manju, Khelafat Majlis Secretary General Ahmad Abdur Kader, and other senior alliance leaders were present.
Earlier on Thursday afternoon, top leaders of the 10 parties held a meeting at Jamaat’s central office in Mogbazar. From the meeting, efforts were made to reach a compromise by speaking with senior leaders of Islami Andolan Bangladesh, but the attempts failed.
Later, Islami Andolan Bangladesh issued a press release saying discussions on seat-sharing were ongoing and urged people not to be confused until a final decision was reached. The party called a press conference at 3:30 pm today to clarify its stance on the alliance.
Even before the election schedule was announced, Jamaat, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, and six other parties had been trying to reach a seat-sharing arrangement. These parties included Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, Nezame Islam Party, Khelafat Majlis, Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan, Jatiya Ganatantrik Party (Jagpa), and the Bangladesh Development Party.
On 28 December, three more parties—the LDP, NCP, and AB Party—joined the alliance, triggering trouble as the inclusion altered the seat-sharing equation. Concerns arose over not receiving the desired number of seats, leading to growing distance between Jamaat and Islami Andolan Bangladesh.
Over several rounds of meetings in recent days, seat-sharing issues were resolved with nine of the 11 parties, but uncertainty persisted regarding Islami Andolan Bangladesh. Jamaat eventually agreed to allocate 45 seats to Islami Andolan Bangladesh, but the latter’s final demand was 60 seats.
Although there was some dissatisfaction within Mamunul Haque’s Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, it did not reach the level of a crisis.
As the parties failed to reach a seat-sharing deal by the final deadline for nomination submission on 29 December, candidates from these parties submitted nominations separately.
The last date for withdrawal of candidacy is 20 January. If a seat-sharing agreement is reached by then, each constituency will have one candidate from the alliance, while the others will withdraw their nominations.
