Last Updated on December 27, 2025 10:27 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
Zakir Hossain from Dhaka
Tasnim Jara, a senior leader of Bangladesh’s National Citizen Party (NCP), has resigned from the party and announced that she will contest the upcoming parliamentary election as an independent candidate from the Dhaka-9 constituency.
Jara, the first senior joint member secretary of the NCP and a resident of Khilgaon, made the announcement in a Facebook post on Saturday, addressing voters of Khilgaon, Shobujbagh and Mugda. She said she was born and raised in Khilgaon and had hoped to enter parliament through a political party, but said “practical reasons” forced her not to contest under the banner of any party or alliance.
Reaffirming her commitment to the people, Jara said she had promised to help create a new political culture and would keep that promise by contesting independently from Dhaka-9. Acknowledging the challenges of running without party backing, she noted that party candidates enjoy advantages such as local offices, organised workers and access to the administration. “My only strength is you,” she wrote, appealing to voters to support her honesty, dedication and commitment to a new form of politics.
Her resignation comes amid internal dissent within the NCP over reports that the party is considering an electoral alliance with Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami ahead of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad elections scheduled for February 12, 2026. A group of female NCP leaders has opposed the move, saying such an alliance would betray the spirit of the 1971 War of Independence and the democratic ideals of the July uprising.
The protesting leaders said an alliance with Jamaat would undermine NCP’s ideology and hinder women’s political participation. A memorandum alleged that Jamaat and its student wing have engaged in divisive politics and targeted NCP’s female members through online harassment. Political analysts and rights activists have also raised concerns over Jamaat’s alleged use of religious sentiment in election campaigning, warning it could undermine democratic norms and fuel social polarisation. Jamaat leaders, however, deny the allegations, saying the party is monitoring the issue and will act against any violations.