Many commentators say that joining forces with Jamaat was an inevitable outcome for the NCP. From the very beginning, a significant portion of the NCP’s organisers showed a clear ideological leaning toward the right. At the same time, the government’s inaction and failures on key national issues were indirectly being associated with them as well.

Over the past 17 months, the party has failed to exert pressure on the government to advance the politics of reform. In countries like Sri Lanka and Nepal, leaders of mass uprisings have continued to emerge as influential forces in national politics. In the case of the NCP, however, the opposite has happened.

As the election drew closer, the party became increasingly directionless. As a result, advisers and supporters across different circles ultimately wanted the NCP to remain at least relevant in post-election opposition politics.

In this harsh reality, joining the Jamaat-led alliance appeared to be the “relatively better” option for the new party. However, the clear moral beneficiary of this move will be Jamaat, and the long-term internal discord it is likely to cause within the NCP will continue to erode the strength, pride, and momentum of “Red July.”

Unfortunately, the NCP’s alignment with Jamaat has caused July-centric policy issues to disappear from the election campaign at an accelerated pace. From now on, electioneering is likely to be dominated by old BNP-versus-Jamaat feuds, personal rivalries, image-building, and contradictions.

As a condition of the alliance, beyond its quota of 30 seats, NCP activists and supporters will have to campaign throughout the election season in favor of a theocratic state project in the remaining 270 seats of the alliance.

The question is whether Maulana Maududi’s vision of the state can truly align with the NCP’s long-standing goal of a centrist, inclusive, and democratic Bangladesh.