Senior Joint Convener of National Citizen Party (NCP) Samantha Sharmin on Sunday warned that the party would have to pay a ‘heavy price’ if it enters into any alliance or understanding with Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, describing the Islamist party as an ‘unreliable ally’.

In a Facebook post, Sharmin clarified her stance at a time when speculations over a possible NCP–Jamaat alliance have intensified, triggering visible tensions among the party’s central leaders and activists.

Tajnuva Jabeen quits NCP over alliance-forging concerns

“Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is not a reliable ally. Any cooperation or understanding with it—given its political position and ideology—would force the NCP to pay a heavy price,” she writes.

Sharmin said the NCP’s founding principles, vision of the state and political philosophy are fundamentally different from those of Jamaat.

She noted that the party emerged centring on three core demands: justice for the July mass killings, structural reforms, and elections to a constituent assembly aimed at establishing a ‘Second Republic’.

Alignment on these three issues, Sharmin said, must be a prerequisite for any political partnership.

She also argued that her current position is consistent with the party’s stance over the past one and a half years.

Referring to Jamaat’s role in opposing reforms by raising the issue of proportional representation in the lower house, Sharmin recalled that the NCP convener had earlier stated that no alliance was possible with forces opposed to reform.

“Following the July march, the party leadership announced plans to field single candidates in all 300 constituencies and invited aspirants nationwide to contest independently under the NCP banner,” she said.

Sharmin stressed that highlighting the problems of an alliance with Jamaat should not be misconstrued as siding with the BNP.

“I believe the NCP’s positions—widely discussed and praised over time—are correct, and I see myself as a soldier of this ideology. Any alliance with either BNP or Jamaat represents a deviation from the NCP’s organisational and political policy,” she added.

The debate over a potential NCP–Jamaat alliance has already had visible fallout within the party. On Saturday, Senior Joint Member Secretary Tasnim Jara resigned from the NCP, announcing plans to contest the election independently.

On Sunday noon, another central leader, Joint Convener Tajnuva Jabeen, also resigned, saying she would not take part in the upcoming 13th national election.