NCP’s proposed 4-party alliance turns uncertain

Staff Reporter :

The National Citizen Party (NCP) says it will need several more days to finalise its candidate list for the upcoming 13th National Parliamentary Election, while the much-discussed electoral alliance with three other parties has become increasingly uncertain.

Between 6 and 20 November, the NCP formally sold nomination forms for all 300 constituencies. Party officials said that even after the official window closed, many continued to purchase forms. In total, more than 1,500 forms have been sold. The party has already completed interviews for most of the nomination seekers through both online and in-person sessions.

NCP leaders say the next phase involves assessing the ground-level strength and electoral prospects of the applicants. Once this scrutiny is complete, the party’s political council will finalise the candidate list.

Abdullah Al Amin, a member of the NCP’s central election management committee, told that work on the list is progressing. “We expect to publish the list within this week,” he said, adding that the party will likely release the names in multiple phases rather than all at once.

Alliance Talks Lose Momentum
Beyond the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, a separate four-party formula—comprising the NCP, Amar Bangladesh Party (AB Party), Bangladesh State Reform Movement, and the Ganadhikar Parishad—had gained attention in recent weeks. The alliance was expected to formally launch on 27 November at the Shaheed Abu Sayeed Convention Centre in Shahbagh.

However, the day before the planned announcement, the four parties held late-night discussions at the Rupayan Trade Centre in Banglamotor, where deep disagreements surfaced.

One point of contention was whether to include Up Bangladesh (United Peoples Bangladesh)—a political platform formed by former leaders of Islami Chhatra Shibir. NCP leaders strongly objected to their inclusion. Meanwhile, senior leaders within the Ganadhikar Parishad were themselves divided on whether the party should join the alliance at all.

With these differences unresolved, the meeting ended without any decision. According to Ariful Islam Adeeb, NCP’s senior joint convener, the parties have not sat for any follow-up discussions since then. “NCP is also preparing to contest the election independently,” he told Prothom Alo.

A top leader from one of the four parties, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the proposed alliance has become “highly uncertain” and may not materialise at all.

With the election schedule expected soon, the NCP finds itself navigating both internal preparations and the fallout of stalled alliance negotiations—leaving open the possibility that the party may eventually enter the electoral race on its own.