Dhaka, Jan 16 (.) After its departure from the now 10-bloc political alliance of the National Citizen Party (NCP) and Jamaat e Islami yesterday, the country’s hardline religious party, the Islami Andolan Bangladesh (IAB) has announced to go solo for the upcoming polls, and will be contesting independently across all 268 constituencies for the 13th national elections.
At a press conference this afternoon at the party’s central office in Dhaka’s Purana Paltan, IAB spokesperson Gazi Ataur Rahman said the decision was taken under the directive of party chief and Chormonai Pir Mufti Syed Muhammad Rezaul Karim.
Explaining the reasons for pulling out of the alliance, Ataur Rahman claimed that the party had been deprived of fair treatment and there were mounting concerns over activities it saw as being “contrary to Islam and deviations from Islamic ideals.”
“We have already secured valid nominations in 268 constituencies across the country. We will contest those 268 seats independently. Islami Andolan will take part in the election on its own,” he said, adding, “We want all votes of the Islamist forces to be cast into a single ballot box.”
Raising additional political concerns, the IAB spokesperson said “The Jamaat-e-Islami ameer spoke about settling matters with BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman without holding any discussion with us.
“After that, doubts and suspicions emerged over whether this election would be engineered.”
Stating that all party candidates have been instructed to not withdraw their nominations, he added that all IAB members have been told to prepare for contesting the national elections on Feb 12.
The announcement has formally ended the IAB’s involvement in the Jamaat-led alliance, making them an independent Islamist party.
In late 2024, the IAB, Jamaat, and other hardline factions and political groups had formed an alliance demanding the implementation of the July Charter before February’s national election.
As the election schedule was finalised, the alliance expanded to 11 parties with last-minute additions of NCP, LDP, and AB Party just before the nomination deadline.
However, tensions erupted when IAB accused Jamaat of bringing in these parties — particularly NCP — without consulting other alliance members.
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