SHAMIMA RITA

The National Citizen Party (NCP) is going through a fresh phase of internal strain while seeking to showcase organisational expansion.

The party is working to bring in dozens of new members from other political platforms. However, insiders say this has sparked a renewed rift within the party and its affiliated bodies.

Earlier, joining the Jamaat-led alliance became a major source of internal discord for NCP, with more than 20 leaders opting to resign, while several others have since become inactive in party activities.

Amid this backdrop, 45 leaders from Amar Bangladesh Party (AB Party), United Peoples Bangladesh (UP Bangladesh), and Students Against Discrimination (SAD) joined the NCP yesterday.

Notable figures include former SAD president Rifat Rashid, former AB Party general secretary Sunny Abdul Haque, UP Bangladesh president Ali Hasan Junayed and its spokesperson Shehrin Sultana Ira.

Welcoming them with flowers, NCP Convener Nahid Islam stressed for a “broader alliance” among pro-July uprising youth.

He alleged that the BNP government was undermining the prospects created by the July uprising through the politicisation of institutions, alongside rising extortion and corruption.

“We need to build an alternative force to complete the struggle for a discrimination-free, democratic, and inclusive Bangladesh,” he said.

Nahid also said previous political identities or affiliations would not be a barrier to joining the NCP.

“Whether one belongs to Chhatra Dal, Chhatra Shibir, Chhatra Odhikar Parishad, or even Chhatra League -- their past affiliation is not our primary concern,” he said.

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