Political earthquake in Bangladesh: Mahfooz Alam leaves NCP, uproar over Jamaat-e-Islami alliance

Dhaka. Mahfooz Alam, the key leader of the violent uprising that toppled the then government in Bangladesh last year, distanced himself from the National Citizen Party (NCP) on Sunday as party leaders moved to form an electoral alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami. In a post on social media platform ‘Facebook’, Alam denied that he was ‘associated with NCP’.

The controversy over the alliance issue in the party has led to a signed letter issued by 30 senior leaders opposing the stance and two top leaders announcing their resignations. There was a violent movement last year under the banner of ‘Students Against Discrimination’ (SAD), which came to be known as ‘July Uprising’ and a major political party emerged in the form of NCP in support of interim government chief Mohammad Yunus in February this year.

Alam effectively served as the Minister-like Advisor on Information and Broadcasting and resigned from this responsibility just before the schedule for Bangladesh’s 13th parliamentary elections was announced by the Election Commission on 11 December. There was speculation that he could be a strong contender for the elections. Alam wrote, “In view of the current circumstances, my respect, affection and friendship towards my colleagues of July will not diminish. But I am no longer associated with NCP.

“It is not true that I had received any offer from the Jamaat-NCP alliance, but it is more important for me to maintain my long-standing position than to become the candidate of the Jamaat-NCP alliance from any constituency in Dhaka,” he said.

His post comes hours after NCP convenor Naheed Islam announced that he has decided to join the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance in a move towards broader political unity ahead of the elections. Right attractive heading