NCP leader Tajnuva Jabeen resigns
National Citizen Party (NCP) leader Tajnuva Jabeen has resigned from the party, expressing deep disappointment over the process through which the party decided to form an alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami.
In a detailed post on her Facebook page on Sunday (28 December), she wrote: “Many of you are thinking that my objection to the alliance with Jamaat is perhaps due to historical reasons or women’s issues. The reason is far more serious — it is the process through which this has happened. It is being presented as political strategy or election alliance. I will say it is planned. It has been carefully orchestrated and brought to this point.
This is much bigger than ideology — it is about trust. Just a few days ago, a grand call was made to collect nominations from across the country. 125 people were given nominations, but seats were negotiated for only 30. The rest were not allowed to contest. The decision was sealed. The matter was pushed to the very end so that no one could even contest independently. Tomorrow is the last date for nomination submission. I currently have no intention of contesting independently at this moment. Everything has been messed up and disowned in the blink of an eye.
Various newspapers are publishing different reports. I am opposing the alliance out of fear of losing nomination. A few days ago, I wrote that if there is negotiation in my seat, I will not contest. No matter how tough the opponent, I will fight. They did not give it. Their group brothers are filling pages after pages in support of them. Why and how this alliance? But no general or EC meeting decision was like this — if alliance happens, candidates in remaining seats will have to step down. Moreover, they will have to campaign for Jamaat in the remaining seats. Jamaat is negotiating with Charmonai Pir for 70 seats. And the party born from the mass uprising gets 30 seats.
From the beginning, NCP talked about people’s assembly, second republic, middle path, women, various ethnic communities in politics — I am one of the few who truly held onto that. I am a founder member of this party. Naturally, I am deeply disappointed. But leaving the party is the only honourable option left for me. Many will say leaving the party in bad times shows apolitical nature, immaturity, etc. Just bullshit. Let me say this much — I was an outsider there; if I am deceived, it makes sense. But the minus politics one top leader does with another top leader there is terrifying. They are so busy doing politics among themselves that they will never be able to build a new middle-path, Bangladesh-centric politics for the country.
Everyone is saying loudly from tomorrow — politics is long, it takes a long journey. Absolutely correct. But NCP itself does not have that policy. Leaders have given birth to controversy after controversy and named it revolution, while those of us who truly held NCP’s policy have been labelled emotional. From the 28 February declaration to the latest Daily Star debate, check how much the top leaders actually hold those words at the right time.
If I wanted to do that old empty rhetoric politics, I would have stayed with the old parties — why new? Coming back to the Jamaat alliance issue — if NCP had stood with its independent identity, political alliance with anyone would not have been a problem. That could have happened after five years — why right in the first election? But all other options have been gradually removed through politics so that there is no way except alliance with Jamaat. Skillfully brought to this point, many have been held hostage. Anyway. This is not political strategy. This is the plan.
After this writing, many attacks will come on me. Many will prepare a basket of my pain. Character assassination attempts will happen. But I am certain with myself. I came to do politics with them, not against them. Today I was supposed to rush around submitting nomination, and here I am sitting and writing all this. The alliance is supposedly for one and a half months, then they will back-bounce to middle path. True. After bouncing back, they will start duplicity and hypocrisy again. The accountability they talk about with foam in mouth — when someone does it themselves, they minus that person.
I have not done politics before, correct. But who among them has done national politics before? You can say I am harming the party by leaving. The matter does not feel good to me either. But more important to me than that is the people who are looking towards NCP, thinking this and that about NCP, NCP is not that. Those of us who have truly held NCP’s policy have been tagged in various ways. Those who have tried hard are leaving one by one. So that this energy is spent in formation, this effort can be done productively. Now I am working as a bull in the mill.
It does not feel good to leave like this either. But accepting the leadership of those who did not want this country, this parliament, and in their compromise wanted to become MP right from the beginning, or those who are desperately trying to become MP for their benefit — it is impossible for me in the year after the mass uprising. I cannot digest this even if I die. My leader will be someone with spine, carrier of July politics. But the whole July is being handed over to Jamaat in the name of political strategy. And they will back-bounce again. Ridiculous. BNP stayed out of power for 17 years with alliance with Jamaat. And Jamaat was under BNP. Not under Jamaat. Where NCP is called another shop of Jamaat, then why is NCP desperately choosing Jamaat to go to power instead of first trying to establish its own identity, its own politics? Were there not three ministers in power? They could not.
Power centre can be held through strategy, but building an organisation requires capability. You all check — those of us who are leaving NCP are the ones who practised the new arrangement politics NCP talked about. But we are being forced to leave. When I want to leave while fully maintaining party integrity without receiving any show-cause, then I get the label of “apolitical”. You also check how many times in a few months which leaders have broken party integrity with statements and actions, but they are million-follower mass uprising leaders, so they can snatch the right of others to contest in the name of election alliance and become MP, and we cannot even resign. That will be seen as a crime.
There will be a lot of positive PR around these leaders centred on the election. But I am certain they are not new arrangement, they are not middle-path politics. You can say you knew this before. But many in this party were/are those who truly practised NCP politics. They were not empowered intentionally. You know those whom NCP wanted to introduce. The spirit of July is not practised in NCP, it is used.
Those who practised it were stopped by saying “many can talk about policy, revolution does not make politics, emotion does not make politics” etc., so that they can continue their hypocrisy.
Another thing I saw — BNP will bring no-vote to yes-vote to win, so this strategy to stop that. My question — yes, to win yes-vote, NCP had to be limited to 30 seats???? Check the political background of 60-70% of the list circulating. You will know better than me. Even then, if I saw planning, political foresight, accountability about NCP politics among the leaders forcefully sitting in NCP, I would have tried harder to stay. Now let us not waste time anymore.
I thought after the formal announcement of the alliance I would resign. That was my last hope. But yesterday everyone confirmed the seal has been put on this alliance. And again I say, the reason for my resignation is not so much the alliance as the process through which the alliance has happened. Distrust, lack of confidence is the main reason. If the party could grow big and establish itself, many things could be considered and given up, but from the very beginning of formation it seems it has to go to parliament first, then the organisation will grow centred on those who become MP. What a situation.
Anyway, I have resigned from NCP today. With a broken heart, I inform that I will not be able to participate in the upcoming national parliament election. The most painful thing is that today my mother is coming from Chattogram for my election, and today I have been forced to take this decision. I know many have been deeply hurt by my decision. But this is right for me. If there was even the minimum hope here, I would have perhaps given the benefit of doubt to my self-respect.
I will return the donations you sent one by one. Please give me a little time. I will write in detail how I will return them gradually. Every single penny will be returned. I am grateful for your support, your love.
Finally, I have never done politics before. In July, I came to the streets for change, for something new.
Until I die, I will continue that effort. My voice will continue more strongly for democratic change in the country. The space for middle-path Bangladesh-centric new arrangement politics remains empty. I will try to fill that space. Time will tell the rest."
