DHAKA: A Bangladeshi youth-driven party born out of the country’s 2024 uprising is facing an open revolt from within after sealing an election alliance with a religious group, a move analysts say could jeopardize its future and reinforce established parties.
At least 30 senior leaders of the National Citizen Party (NCP) have openly opposed its alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami, announced on Sunday, with several resigning in protest.
The Muslim-majority South Asian nation goes to the polls on February 12.
Before the deal, opinion polls had predicted Jamaat finishing a close second behind the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, while the NCP lagged far behind in third place.
“The NCP presented itself as a youth-driven alternative to traditional power structures. That identity is now under serious strain,” said H.M. Nazmul Alam, an academic.
