In a major twist in the country’s opposition bloc, Kalyan Party Chairman Maj Gen (Retd) Syed Muhammad Ibrahim on Wednesday floated a new political alliance named “Jukta Front”, vowing to join the January 7 general election.
Two other parties in the new alliance are the Jatiya Party (jackfruit symbol) and the Bangladesh Muslim League (hand), he said at a press conference at the National Press Club in Dhaka.
Ibrahim also announced that he would be the president of the newly launched alliance.
Reacting to the development later in the day, leaders of the 12-party alliance expelled Ibrahim and accused him of playing the role of a traitor and dishonest person.
The opposition alliance also replaced Ibrahim with Shahadat Hossain Salim as its new spokesperson.
Ibrahim’s Kalyan Party was part of the BNP’s simultaneous movement.
The formation of the new alliance means that it has parted ways with the 12-party combine, which has been with the BNP in the movement seeking the resignation of the government and for the next election to be held under a neutral government.
The 12-party coalition, in a statement, said: “Syed Muhammad Ibrahim has taken government benefits on the pretext of a movement against the government.
“He betrayed the country, the people, and freedom fighters by opting to join the polls under the fascist government.”
Rashed Pradhan, vice president of the Jatiya Gonotantrik Party (Jagpa), a key member of the platform, said that in an emergency meeting on Wednesday, Ibrahim and Bangladesh Muslim League Chairman Advocate Zulfiqar Bulbul Chowdhury were expelled from the 12-party alliance.
“Ibrahim's role can be compared to that of Rasputin. In this difficult time for the country, his dishonesty with the people will mark him out as a Mir Jafar and he will be considered a traitor in the future,” he said.
The coalition’s new spokesperson, Salim, said: “The unity of the 12-party alliance is unbreakable, and we are united in the fight for democracy.
“Rather the leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Kalyan Party and Muslim League have disregarded the decision of their party leaders and expressed their determination to stay with us,” he concluded.
This is the second split in the coalition that was floated on December 22 last year. Recently, the Bangladesh Labour Party left the alliance and decided to continue the movement separately.
At his press conference, Ibrahim cited the limitations of his party in the anti-government movement.
“Right now, our political incapability is failing to keep the momentum in the movement going,” he said.
Ibrahim went on to say: “I’d place the issues that we always focus on in the House (if elected).”