A faction of the Jatiya Party on Monday announced a new political alliance, the National Democratic Front, or the Jatiya Ganatantrik Front, with 18 political parties, though there is a political platform in the country with the same name.
Jatiya Party faction chairman Anisul Islam Mahmud announced the formation of the new alliance at a press conference at Emanuel Party Centre in the capital’s Gulshan-1 area in a bid to take part in the next general election unitedly.
The previously formed platform with the same name strongly condemned and protested at the announcement of the newly formed coalition titled Jatiya Ganatantrik Front, or NDF, and called for an immediate change of the Jatiya Party faction-led alliance’s name.
The previously formed NDF president M Jahangir Hossain and general secretary Chowdhury Ashikul Alam, in a joint statement on Monday evening, said that the NDF was founded on February 5, 1988 aiming at establishing a democratic society.
The organisation’s founding president was the late MA Karim, and its founding general secretary was the late labour leader Protap Uddin Ahmed.
‘However, a new alliance was announced with the same name, the NDF, in a manner that is contrary to political decorum. The announcement of this new alliance is nothing but an attempt to weaken the struggle of the country’s anti-imperialist and patriotic democratic forces and to create confusion among the people,’ the statement said.
During the announcement of the new alliance, Anisul Islam Mahmud said that they wanted to take part in the next general election under the new alliance if it was held in a free, fair and credible manner.
Anisul said that six political parties of their 18-party alliance were registered with the Election Commission.
He said that they were in favour of the July uprising and were not with the fascist Awami League, which was responsible for the mass killings during the uprising.
He demanded the immediate release of Janata Party Bangladesh secretary general Shaukat Mahmood, who was arrested on Sunday.
The demands of the Jatiya Party faction-led alliance include holding the next general election in a free, fair, credible and participatory manner, ensuring level playing field for all political parties, acting the interim government as a caretaker government for two months ahed of the national election, withdrawal of all cases against the alliance leaders for taking part in the election, and establishing a corruption-free society.
Another Jatiya Party faction leader Anwar Hossain Manju said that the interim government should work for holding the next general election in February in a free, fair and credible manner and they should ensure level playing field for all political parties.
The parties of the alliance include Anisul Islam Mahmud-led Jatiya Party faction, Jatiya Party-JP, Janata Party Bangladesh, Bangladesh Jatiya Party, Trinamul BNP, Jatiya Sanskar Jote, Bangladesh Muslim League, Jatiya Islamic Mahajote, and Jatiya Janata Party.
Jatia Party-JP chairman Anwar Hossain Manju, JP faction executive chairman Mujibul Haque Chunnu, secretary general ABM Ruhul Amin Hawlader, central leaders Kazi Firoz Rashid, Abu Hossain Babla, Jahirul Islam Jahir and others spoke at the press conference.
JP faction chairman Anisul Islam Mahmud was elected president of the alliance, while Anwar Hossain Manju was elected the chief adviser, ABM Ruhul Amin Hawlader spokesman, and Jatata Party acting chairman Golam Sarwar Milon was elected coordinator of the alliance.
Different political parties have been forming alliances to take part in the next general election. On Sunday, the National Citizen Party, the Rashtra Sanskar Andolan and the Amar Bangladesh Party announced an alliance named ‘Democratic Reform Alliance’.
