Bangladesh’s Gen-Z party faces revolt over Islamist alliance, risking its future

By Tora Agarwala and Ruma Paul

DHAKA, Dec 29 (Reuters) - 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 an Islamist group, a move analysts say could jeopardise 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. "Youth-based movements do not collapse only because they lose elections. They collapse when they lose clarity and internal unity."

'ALLIANCE FOR GREATER UNITY'

The NCP was formed earlier this year by leaders of the protests that ousted long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August, 2024, forcing her to flee to India. Driven by Gen-Z activists born after the late 1990s, it says it aims to free the nation from decades of nepotism and the dominance of Hasina's Awami League and the BNP.

With the Awami League banned, the vote will be effectively a direct contest between the BNP and Jamaat, which has trailed the other two in the past and had not been allowed to contest any elections since 2013 after a court said its registration as a political party conflicted with Bangladesh's secular constitution.

An interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus revoked all the restrictions on Jamaat in August 2024.

The NCP's struggle shows the challenges of turning street power into votes and holds lessons for neighbouring Nepal, where similar youth-led protests ousted the government this year and fresh elections are due in March, political analysts have said.

NCP chief Nahid Islam told a press conference late on Sunday that the recent killing of 32-year-old Sharif Osman Hadi, a key figure in the uprising, forced his party to seek an alliance to keep at bay forces trying to derail the election through violence.

"The dictatorship we overthrew is attempting to sabotage the election. Therefore, for the sake of greater unity, we have reached an electoral understanding with Jamaat,” said Nahid, 27.

"This was a majority decision within the party, but some may be opposed to it and they are free to take their own decisions."

Hadi was shot in the head by masked assailants in Dhaka earlier in December while launching his election campaign as an independent candidate. Police say they have identified the killers but have not apprehended them.

'YOUR CENTRIST IDEA AND IDEOLOGY WILL VANISH'

Nahid earlier told Reuters his organisation was weak because it had not had enough time to build itself. It was also hampered by scarce funds and an unclear stance on key issues such as rights for women and minorities, Reuters reported in early December, citing party leaders who said alliance talks had been underway for some time.

One senior NCP leader to have resigned is Tasnim Jara, a doctor who left a career in Britain to join the party. She is now seeking the support of nearly 5,000 voters to be allowed to contest as an independent.

"I promised you and the people of this country that I would fight for you and for building a new political culture," she said on Facebook. "Whatever the circumstances, I am determined to keep that promise."

Political analyst Asif Shahan, a professor at the University of Dhaka, said the NCP was "doomed".

"If you go with Jamaat, it will help Jamaat, not you," he said. "It will give them a liberal cover, and in return, you will become a force for the right. Your centrist idea and ideology - already poorly defined - will simply vanish."

(Reporting by Ruma Paul and Tora Agarwala in Dhaka; Writing by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)