Major NCP Leaders Resign in Succession, What Lies Ahead?
The National Citizens' Party (NCP), which rose to prominence after the July mass uprising that led to the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government in 2024, announced its first phase of candidates for 125 constituencies on 10 December for the 13th National Parliament Election. Prior to that, the party had opened nomination forms to everyone, with over 1,500 aspirants collecting forms. At the time, NCP stated it would contest all 300 seats independently and announce candidates for the remaining seats later.
However, towards the end of December, the party came back into the spotlight after forming an electoral alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami. Almost immediately after the alliance news emerged, a wave of resignations began within the party. From the 217-member central convener committee to various district and upazila committees, at least 1.5 dozen leaders have publicly announced their resignation.
The latest resignation came this afternoon, Saturday (3 January), when Syed Nilima Dola, convener of the Faridpur region, declared her exit via a Facebook post.
Latest Developments
In the past week alone, several leaders have left NCP. Some have announced they will contest the upcoming parliamentary election as independent candidates, while others have chosen to remain inactive in politics. The big question now is: What is actually happening inside the party that emerged as a force of July leadership?
According to NCP sources, leaders are resigning mainly for two key reasons:
- Alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami A significant section views the electoral pact with Jamaat as ideologically unacceptable and politically “suicidal.” They see it as a complete deviation from NCP’s centrist, post-uprising reformist stance and a betrayal of its core identity.
- Exclusion from Nomination Many had collected preliminary nomination forms expecting to contest. However, seat-sharing in the alliance left a large portion without nominations, leading to frustration and exit. A major section of the party feels deprived of candidacy.
Timeline of Key Resignations
The wave of resignations intensified about a week ago after the Jamaat-led 8-party alliance and seat-sharing negotiations became nearly final:
- On 27 December, senior joint member secretary Dr Tasnim Jara announced her resignation and declared she would contest Dhaka-9 as an independent candidate.
- Two days earlier, on 25 December, central committee joint member secretary Mir Arshadul Haq resigned, citing failure to uphold July promises. He had received nomination for Chattogram-16 but decided not to contest.
- On 28 December, joint convener and Dhaka-17 candidate Tajnuva Jabeen resigned.
- Subsequently, joint member secretary and media cell chief Mushfiq Us Salehin, central joint chief coordinator Khan Muhammad Mursalin, joint convener Khaled Saifullah, Farhad Alam Bhuiyan, joint member secretary Arif Sohel, central organiser (North Region) Azad Khan Bhaskani, Asif Nehal, Mir Habib Al Manjur, Marzuk Ahmed, joint member secretary Wahiduzzaman, Al Amin Tutul, and others resigned one after another.
- On 30 December, Dyuti Aranya Chowdhury Priti, northern region organiser and senior joint member secretary of Jatiya Juva Shakti, announced her resignation.
- The most recent was today (3 January) when Faridpur region convener Syed Nilima Dola resigned.
At the grassroots level too, resignations and election withdrawals have been reported. For instance:
- On 28 December, Fenni district convener Abul Kashem resigned and withdrew his candidacy for Feni-3.
- Nazmul Sohag, central organiser (North Region) and preliminary nominee for Gaibandha-3, announced he will not contest.
Some Leaders Choose Inactivity
Several leaders have not formally resigned but have announced they will remain inactive:
- Joint convener Monira Sharmin has withdrawn from the election.
- Another joint convener, Nusrat Tabassum, has decided to stay inactive during the election period.
- Senior joint convener Samantha Sharmin announced she will not contest and called the seat-sharing with Jamaat an “suicidal decision.”
What the Resigning Leaders Say
Mushfiq Us Salehin told The Daily Campus over phone: “There was disagreement on some fundamental policy issues, which is why I resigned. My view was that we should contest the election independently or through the ‘Democratic Reform Alliance’ we formed earlier with three other parties. That would have allowed us to expand organisationally across the country and build a stronger base for the next election. The current leadership’s position is to secure a significant number of seats this time. While that may benefit NCP in the short term, I believe it will harm us in the long run. Contesting independently would have strengthened our centrist ideology and increased support. The alliance with Jamaat, whose main party is Jamaat-e-Islami, will limit our ability to maintain a centrist position and build our own identity, as activities will now depend on alliance partners. This will destroy the party’s political distinctiveness, in my view.”
Mir Arshadul Haq told The Daily Campus: “I have resigned for overall reasons. The way we envisioned politics has not materialized. It is no longer centrist politics; instead, we are working for another political party. This is not new in NCP. Earlier, on 10 September last year, central joint chief organiser Major (Retd) Abdullah Al Mahmud and central member Major (Retd) Mohammad Salahuddin announced their resignation. They cited that some top leaders regularly made derogatory remarks against the army and former military personnel and took hostile positions. Despite informing the leadership multiple times, no corrective measures were taken.”
NCP Leadership’s Position on the Resignations
When asked about the resignations of Dr Tasnim Jara and Tajnuva Jabeen on 28 December, NCP Convener Nahid Islam said at the party office: “Whether someone stays in the party or contests the election is their personal decision.”
On the recent wave of resignations, NCP Election Media Sub-Committee Chief Mahbub Alam told The Daily Campus today: “There are two aspects here. First, the decision we took was based on the opinion of the majority of party members. If someone wants to impose their personal opinion, it is not healthy; respecting the majority view is the beauty of a democratic party. We have clearly stated this is not an ideological alliance; it is only for implementing the July Charter and ensuring victory for ‘Yes’ in the referendum. There is no ideological compromise. Those who have left have misunderstood. I believe they will soon realize and return.”
When asked if there are initiatives to bring back the resigned leaders, he said: “Discussions are ongoing with them.”
NCP Senior Joint Convener Ariful Islam Adib told The Daily Campus: “The resignation letters have been submitted. The party will later discuss whether to accept them or call them back for talks. We hope all our comrades will stay together.”
When asked if the leadership has reached out, Mushfiq Us Salehin said: “I personally met the convener and submitted my resignation letter. That was the extent of our communication.”
Where Are the Resigned Leaders Headed?
While no clear announcement has been made yet, speculation is rife about whether they will join another party or form a new one. In a video message after resigning as central joint chief coordinator, Khan Muhammad Mursalin said: “I am resigning from NCP. But I am not retiring from politics. I will stand again in the ranks of the people in the long struggle. You will see me back on the streets very soon.”
When asked about joining another party, Mushfiq Us Salehin said: “I have not thought about joining anywhere yet.”
Mir Arshadul Haq told The Daily Campus: “I have not joined anywhere yet. But I am supporting BNP unofficially because the country’s situation is not good right now. It needs stability, and there is no other option besides BNP. I have not officially joined yet.”
In her resignation letter posted on Facebook today, Syed Nilima Dola wrote: “I believe that it is no longer possible for NCP to create a new path of centrist politics. I stayed with NCP for so long because I thought the party would work towards necessary state reforms in the post-July period. However, after recent decisions, it is clear to me that the party is fully entering the right-wing camp and patronizing that stream of politics. The election-centric alliance with Jamaat is not a strategic one; if it were, so many leaders and activists would not have resigned. This alliance was made by deceiving the party’s leaders and workers, and the nomination process has been a severe betrayal.”
