Islami Andolan Bangladesh will retain 50 seats, while the remaining 250 seats have been negotiated among 10 other parties, including Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, as an 11-party alliance finalised its seat-sharing talks. The alliance has been named the “11-party electoral unity.”
It has been announced that the list of candidates for the 250 seats will be unveiled on Thursday at 8pm at the Diploma Engineers Institute in Dhaka.
Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis Amir Mamunul Haque has been entrusted by the 10 parties with the responsibility of negotiating with Islami Andolan and ensuring its inclusion in the alliance until the end.
Senior leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami and the other nine parties met at Jamaat’s central office in Moghbazar, Dhaka, around 11:30am on Thursday to finalise the seat-sharing arrangement. Sources said the discussions focused primarily on how many seats each party would receive.
After the meeting, Mohammad Muntasir Ali, senior Naib Amir of Khilafat Majlis, told journalists that the candidate list for the 250 seats would be announced at Thursday’s event. “Fifty seats have been kept for Islami Andolan. If they do not join, the remaining seats will be announced later,” he said.
Rashed Pradhan, co-vice president and spokesperson of the National Democratic Party (JAGPA), said Mamunul Haque is holding talks with Islami Andolan, including discussions with the Charmonai Pir, to bring the party on board.
Mamunul Haque later said discussions with Islami Andolan had already taken place and details would be disclosed at the evening press conference. He expressed optimism that the seat announcement would include Islami Andolan.
Nahid Islam, convener of the National Citizens Party (NCP), said the 11-party alliance holds political significance and is well understood by the public. He added that a competitive election would ensure a democratic transition and that any minor disagreements would be resolved quickly.
He also said all 300 candidates would contest as alliance nominees rather than party-specific candidates, with all alliance partners cooperating fully.
Those present at the meeting included Jamaat-e-Islami Naib Amir Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher; Hamidur Rahman Azad, assistant secretary general of Jamaat and coordinator of the 11-party alliance; NCP Convener Nahid Islam; Khilafat Majlis Amir Mamunul Haque; its general secretaries Jalaluddin Ahmed and Ahmad Abdul Kader; AB Party Chairman Mojibur Rahman Monju; Bangladesh Khilafat Andolan General Secretary Yusuf Sadiq Haqqani; Bangladesh Nezame Islam Party senior Naib Amir Maulana Abdul Majed Athari; and JAGPA spokesperson Rashed Pradhan, among others.
Explaining Islami Andolan’s absence from the meeting, its senior joint general secretary and spokesperson Gazi Ataur Rahman told reporters that they had learned about the meeting late and were unable to prepare. He said discussions with Jamaat were ongoing and that no decision had been taken to withdraw from the alliance.
Negotiations over seat sharing between Jamaat and Islami Andolan are continuing, with talks also underway about possible alternative arrangements. However, neither side has made any formal announcement of a separate alliance, and both have kept the door open for compromise.
Earlier in the day, Jamaat Amir Shafiqur Rahman, in a post on his verified Facebook page, urged supporters to refrain from making misleading or undesirable comments about Islami Andolan Bangladesh on social media.
Meanwhile, Islami Andolan said in a statement that while some unease has emerged, it is too early to make a final comment on the seat-sharing arrangement. The party said multidimensional and multiparty discussions are ongoing and that a final decision will be announced officially once reached.
