The student-led Bangladeshi party, born out of the protest movement that toppled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has forged an electoral alliance with the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami ahead of February’s parliamentary election, stirring internal rifts. Since last year’s uprising, the National Citizen Party (NCP) has presented itself as a centrist, reformist alternative to nepotism and two-party dominance; however, as the election nears, it is struggling to translate street power into voter support.
NCP chief Nahid Islam said on Sunday the party had decided to achieve greater unity, adding that the final list of candidates would be announced on Monday. Other NCP figures have described the alliance as a pragmatic step in a fragmented political landscape.