Will Islami Andolan turn down an alliance with Jamaat and go it alone?

Though seat-sharing is a factor, there are other issues holding back an alliance with Jamaat, a party official says

While the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance has not named candidates to 50 parliamentary seats in the upcoming election for negotiation, there are indications that Islami Andolan will ultimately contest the 13th general election as a separate party.

The party, led by Chormonai Pir Mufti Rezaul Karim, has called a press briefing at its central office at 3:30pm on Friday, where an announcement is expected, a senior central leader of the party told bdnews24.com.

“Our party nominations have been submitted for 268 parliamentary seats across the country. One or two nominations may be withdrawn, but Islami Andolan will contest the election independently,” the leader said.

On Thursday night, several leaders of Islami Andolan said the possibility of returning to the Jamaat alliance was “negative”, while joining BNP was also “unlikely”.

At one point, the party considered forming a new alliance with some other religiously-oriented parties, but that plan now appears to have been abandoned, according to sources.

When asked about the matter, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Maruf, central publicity and Dawah secretary of the party, told bdnews24.com: “We have a press briefing at our central office in Purana Paltan this afternoon. Details will be shared there.”

Islami Andolan Ameer Syed Rezaul Karim may address the press briefing and announce the party’s final decision.

The 13th parliamentary election and referendum will be held on Feb 12. The Election Commission is currently conducting the appeal phase after reviewing nominations, and the final list of candidates will be confirmed on Jan 20.

Ahead of the election, an “11-party electoral alliance” led by Jamaat-e-Islami emerged through the coordinated movements of eight religion-based parties. The joint movement initially began with demands for voting through the proportional representation system and a referendum before parliamentary polls.

The alliance originally included Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Andolan, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, Khelafat Majlis, Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan, Jatiya Ganatantrik Party (JAGPA), Nizam-e-Islam Party, and Bangladesh Development Party (BDP).

As the 13th parliamentary election approached, discussions began on converting the movement into an electoral alliance. On the day before nominations closed, the National Citizens Party (NCP) and Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) joined the group, followed by AB Party the next day.

However, Islami Andolan and a few other parties, including Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, objected to NCP joining the alliance. While Mamunul Haque’s Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis was eventually convinced to ally with NCP, a chasm developed between Islami Andolan and the Jamaat-led alliance.

Over the past two weeks, Islami Andolan has been unable to reach an agreement with Jamaat over seat-sharing. The party demanded more than 150 seats, and as their expectation was not met, they did not attend Thursday’s “11-party alliance” meeting.