Jamaat set to contest up to 220 seats
Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is likely to contest as many as 220 constituencies in the upcoming national election as the party-led alliance moves to finalise a revised seat-sharing arrangement following the withdrawal of Islami Andolan Bangladesh, alliance leaders and party sources said on Saturday.
A formal announcement of the final distribution of seats is expected on Monday, January 19, after negotiations among alliance partners conclude later tonight, according to leaders familiar with the discussions.
On January 15, the Jamaat-led alliance announced a preliminary candidate distribution for 253 constituencies, allocating 179 seats to Jamaat-e-Islami, 30 to the National Citizen Party (NCP), and leaving 47 seats vacant for Islami Andolan Bangladesh.
The arrangement unravelled the following day when Islami Andolan declared it would contest the election independently under its own party symbol, the “hand fan,” and vowed to field candidates in 268 of the 300 constituencies.
Since then, alliance leaders say, negotiations have focused on redistributing the 47 seats that had been set aside for Islami Andolan.
Senior leaders from several alliance parties told to the media that talks over the remaining seats are in their final stage, with an agreement likely to be concluded by Saturday night.
According to multiple Jamaat leaders, there is now virtually no prospect of Islami Andolan rejoining the alliance.
While Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair said on Friday that the alliance’s door remained open, conversations with party leaders on Saturday suggested a clear shift, with them indicating that the chapter with Islami Andolan is effectively closed.
“If the current negotiations proceed as expected, Jamaat’s total number of seats may rise to around 220,” one senior alliance leader said, adding that Jamaat is prepared to concede only a limited number of the previously reserved constituencies to its partners, citing the party’s strong organisational presence in most of those areas.
Under the emerging formula, Jamaat may give up a maximum of 10 of the 47 constituencies that had earlier been earmarked for Islami Andolan. Other alliance partners are expected to receive a small number of additional seats.
The National Citizen Party, which was initially allocated 30 seats, could see its tally increase to 33. Three alliance members — NCP, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, and Khelafat Majlis — are currently negotiating with Jamaat for expanded allocations.
Each of these parties is seeking around 10 more constituencies, though Jamaat is willing to concede only two to three seats per party at most, alliance sources said.
Speaking to the media on Saturday afternoon, Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair said the extended negotiations were nearing completion. “The discussions on seat-sharing within our 10-party alliance will be completed by tonight. A final announcement will be made on Monday,” he said.
Zubair also said individual parties had almost finalised their election manifestos and that alliance leaders would soon meet to prepare a joint manifesto.
Meanwhile, the NCP has already announced final candidates for 27 constituencies and signalled that the number could rise by at least five more as talks continue.
Party leaders have said the NCP is ultimately aiming to secure around 40 seats within the alliance framework.
From late Friday night through Saturday afternoon, the NCP published a series of posters on its verified Facebook page, featuring the names and photographs of its declared candidates.
With Islami Andolan set to run independently and the Jamaat-led bloc recalibrating its strategy, the final seat-sharing formula is expected to clarify the alliance’s electoral footprint and the scale of Jamaat’s dominance within it, as opposition forces position themselves for what is shaping up to be a crowded and fragmented contest.