NCP eyes solo path from Jamaat in local polls

The National Citizen Party is trying to turn the second anniversary of the July Uprising into a grassroots election campaign, but its latest political roadmap also exposes a sensitive calculation: the party wants to contest the upcoming local government polls with a separate identity, away from the shadow of its earlier alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami.

At a press briefing in Dhaka on Saturday, the NCP announced its month-long “July Awakening to Build the Nation” march programme across dozens of districts.

The campaign, party leaders said, will focus mainly on areas where the NCP has already announced candidates for upazilas and municipalities.

But the roadmap left out one politically sensitive district – Gopalganj.

The district, widely known as a stronghold of the now-banned Awami League and the hometown of Sheikh Hasina’s family, does not appear on either of the NCP’s northern or southern regional campaign routes, despite falling within the broader Dhaka division corridor.

Gopalganj was also the scene of deadly violence during an NCP march and street rally on 16 July 2025, when four people were killed and more than 100 others were injured.

The party did not explain the reason behind excluding the district from Saturday’s announced programme.

NCP Chief Organiser for the northern region Sarjis Alam said the party had already announced candidates for its first 100 upazilas and municipalities, and that the July marches would be concentrated in those areas.

He said the month-long campaign was designed to engage people from all walks of life, uphold the aspirations of the July Uprising, introduce its significance to younger generations, honour those killed during the movement and reinforce the party’s commitment to nation-building.

The programme has been divided into two regional tracks.

The northern region programme will be led by Sarjis Alam and Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary.
The southern region programme will be led by Chief Organiser for the southern region Hasnat Abdullah and party spokesperson Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain.

Campaign with an election message
On 29 March, the NCP announced party candidates for mayoral posts in five city corporations, including Dhaka South and Dhaka North. Party leaders said candidates for the remaining city corporations would be announced later.

On 10 May, the party announced its first batch of 100 candidates for chairman and mayoral posts in upazilas and municipalities across the country.

The names were unveiled by Sarjis Alam at a press conference at the party’s temporary office in Banglamotor.

Sarjis said more than 1,000 applications had been submitted to the party for local government seats, from which the initial 100 were selected.

“We will announce another 100 candidates in the second phase on 20 May. This nomination process will continue,” he said.

He said candidates would not be drawn only from party ranks. Applicants from other political parties could also be considered if they met certain conditions.

“Applicants must be hardworking, acceptable to people, free from any history of oppression, and have no direct involvement with the previous fascist government or crimes associated with it,” Sarjis said.
The Election Commission has also started preparations for the local government polls.

On 30 June, Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told Parliament that the EC had begun necessary preparations to hold the elections in a free, fair and neutral manner.

NCP wants distance from Jamaat alliance
Speaking to The New Nation, Molla Mohammad Faruk Ehsan, joint member secretary of the NCP, said the party has coordinators in six city corporations and 100 upazilas.

“We are ready to contest the upcoming local polls solely to get rid of the Jamaat-e-Islami alliance,” he said.

He said the NCP would focus on three major issues: reforms, justice and resistance to what he described as Indian aggression.

NCP Senior Joint Convener Samantha Sharmin also said the party was not preparing to contest the local elections with Jamaat.

“The party is not going to contest the local election with the Jamaat alliance. We are preparing to field our candidates in city corporations and at the upazila level,” she told The New Nation.
Party insiders said the issue of electoral symbol has also become important.

“While national-level alliance politics often depends on seat-sharing, local government polls are more directly linked to party identity, candidate acceptability, grassroots networks and personal credibility.”
Jamaat also rules out joint contest

Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar told The New Nation that the party is not going to contest the upcoming local government elections in alliance with the NCP.

Nasreen Sultana Mily, general secretary of AB Party, said new and smaller parties that joined an alliance with Jamaat did not gain much politically in the 13th parliamentary election.

“I think in local-level polls, people prefer their own candidates who are dedicated to developing rural areas. In this situation, new and smaller political parties that made alliance with Jamaat could face an ideological crisis,” she told The New Nation.

Gopalganj exclusion adds political signal
The exclusion of Gopalganj from the July Awakening route has added another layer to the NCP’s local polls messaging.

The district’s political symbolism is clear. It has long been associated with the Awami League and Sheikh Hasina’s family. It was also the site of deadly clashes during the NCP’s 2025 programme.

By avoiding Gopalganj in its anniversary campaign, the NCP may be seeking to prevent a repeat of confrontation while focusing on areas where it has stronger organisational preparation and announced candidates.

For the NCP, the campaign now carries a dual purpose. It is both a remembrance programme for the uprising that gave birth to the party and a test of its organisational strength before the local government elections.