Jamaat, NCP to go alone in local races
Despite fighting the last general election as coalition partners and continuing to march together on the streets, Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizens’ Party (NCP) are preparing to contest the upcoming local government elections independently — a strategic divergence that reveals the unresolved tensions beneath their political alliance.
Both parties are currently finalising their own candidate lists across city corporations and union parishads, even as behind-the-scenes negotiations over potential seat-sharing arrangements remain inconclusive.
“No formal discussion on electoral understanding has taken place within the 11-party alliance yet. The election schedule hasn’t been announced either.
So for now, we are finalising our own candidates everywhere,” said Abdul Halim, Assistant Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami.
“If an understanding is reached, we will decide who concedes where. But since no such talks have happened, we are preparing for a solo contest.”
NCP’s northern chief organiser and head of the party’s local election management committee, Sarjis Alam, struck the same note.
“NCP is in the process of building itself as an independent political force.
That is why we will announce our own candidates in every local election.
If, later, the interests of the country and the people demand a coalition arrangement somewhere, that will be a decision for that time. But for now, we are going it alone.”
Candidates in the Frame
Though party symbols are barred under the applicable law for local government elections this cycle, parties have already begun publicly endorsing candidates.
Jamaat is learnt to be weighing Muhammad Selimuddin, the party’s Dhaka North metropolitan chief, as its mayoral pick for Dhaka North City Corporation.
For Dhaka South, the name of Sadiq Qaem — vice president of Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) and central international affairs secretary of Islami Chhatra Shibir — is under discussion, though alliance insiders suggest his candidacy may be a bargaining chip rather than a firm commitment.
Shibir has already clarified that its office-bearers cannot contest elections on behalf of another political party while in position.
In Gazipur, Dr Hafizur Rahman, and in Chittagong, Muhammad Shamsuzzaman Helali, are among the names being considered.
NCP, meanwhile, has moved faster, formally announcing mayoral candidates for five city corporations.
Former interim government adviser Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan has been named for Dhaka South, Ariful Islam Adib for Dhaka North, Tariqul Islam for Cumilla, Abdur Rahman Afzal for Sylhet and Mobasswer Ali for Rajshahi.
Asif Mahmud has already made a campaign pitch, declaring on Facebook that residents of Dhaka South would no longer pay waste collection bills if he is elected mayor — while ensuring sanitation workers would not face financial losses under the arrangement.
The Dhaka Arithmetic
Alliance sources say that, when push comes to shove, the most likely outcome for the two Dhaka seats is a division of labour: NCP’s Asif Mahmud in Dhaka South and Jamaat’s Selimuddin in Dhaka North each receiving the formal backing of the 11-party bloc.
In Chittagong, talks are reportedly centred on former mayor Manzur Alam, with NCP negotiating to secure alliance endorsement for him should he join the party.
The prospect has already generated friction in the ranks. Supporters of Jamaat and NCP have clashed openly on social media over the Dhaka South seat, with competing camps backing Asif Mahmud and Sadiq Qaem respectively.
Union Parishad: A Different Calculus
At the union parishad level, however, both parties appear resolute about going independent — and the reasoning is as much strategic as it is organisational.
Alliance leaders say that central-level coordination, even if achieved for city corporations, will not be imposed on grassroots contests.
Individual candidates may work out “one-to-one” local understandings, but neither party will officially obstruct that.
For NCP in particular, the union parishad polls represent a diagnostic exercise.
The party, still in its formative stage, hopes a solo run will reveal the true extent of its organisational reach — especially outside urban centres.
That assessment, leaders say, will inform whether coalition arrangements are worth pursuing in future upazila, municipality or city corporation elections.
“Both testing our capability and winning broad-based support are important,” said Sarwar Tushar, joint convener of NCP.
“Considering everything, the 11-party electoral unity may contest city corporations through mutual understanding. But at the grassroots level, we may contest independently.”
