Talks among political parties and alliances on seat-sharing and forging election coalitions are accelerating ahead of the Jatiya Sangsad polls, with leaders suggesting that the process could take its final shape by the end of December.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party leaders said that the party was working to form a broad electoral alliance aimed at uniting diverse political forces under a single umbrella.
The BNP has been holding informal talks with several parties and alliances, including the National Citizen Party, the Democratic Left Alliance, the Ganatantra Mancha, and other like-minded groups.
BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed recently said that the party was in communication with all political actors, but it was premature to confirm any alliance formation as discussions were still under way.
NCP leaders said that they had held several informal meetings with the BNP over possible seat-sharing but that discussions were yet to yield any substantive progress.
NCP insiders said that two advisers in the interim government, both of whom had been student leaders during the July uprising, were preparing to contest the upcoming elections for Dhaka and Lakshmipur JS seats as independent candidates.
The BNP has not nominated candidates for those two constituencies.
On the issue of electoral alliances, NCP leaders said that they were in touch with all parties involved in the anti-fascist movement but no concrete framework for an election coalition had yet emerged.
One senior NCP leader disclosed that the party was keeping its options open for all partners in the movement, including the BNP and the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
Meanwhile, the country鈥檚 eight Islamic parties 鈥� currently engaged in a simultaneous movement pressing five demands, including establishing a legal basis for the July Charter and holding a referendum 鈥� are considering a seat-sharing mechanism for the coming polls.
The parties include Jamaat, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, Khelafat Majlis, Nezam-e-Islam Party, Bangladesh Khelafat Andolon, Bangladesh Development Party, and the Jatiya Ganotantrik Party.
Jamaat assistant secretary general Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair said that the strategic understanding among these parties stemmed from their joint involvement in the five-point movement.
He said that while these eight parties were currently visible, discussions were also taking place with several other parties, including the NCP.
聽Zubair said that no engagement had yet progressed to the level of a formal dialogue, but said that a clearer picture was expected by December as the political landscape was still evolving.
NCP chief coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary said that discussions on forming coalitions were continuing, with the party鈥檚 core strategy centred on building a broad 鈥楻eform Alliance鈥�.
He said that the initiative was grounded in a clear divide between the supporters of reform and those opposed to it, emphasising that public sentiment overwhelmingly favours change.
Nasiruddin said that the immediate political contest would revolve around the implementation of the July Charter and the proposed referendum.
While the NCP, he explained, is in communication with several political groups, the party distinguishes between general political engagement聽 and concrete electoral arrangements.
On talks with the BNP, Nasiruddin said that discussions had so far been limited to the principles of the July Charter and, at the most, the concept of proportional representation.
The NCP is willing to collaborate with any party supporting the reform agenda and will continue its political outreach accordingly, he said.
Regarding the Jamaat, Nasiruddin said, only broad political discussions has taken place, with no progress yet on seat-sharing or electoral collaboration.聽
On a possible third alliance 鈥� comprising six parties from the Ganatantra Mancha along with the NCP, the Amar Bangladesh Party and the Gono Odhikar Parishad 鈥� Mancha leaders said that talks were progressing and the nine-party bloc shares a broad consensus on the reform agenda.
However, a question has arisen over whether, if the RPO is amended further to allow alliance partners to contest with a common symbol, some parties within the Ganatantra Mancha might lose interest in forming the third alliance and instead choose to contest the elections under the BNP鈥檚 paddy-sheaf symbol.
NCP leader Nasir, however, hoped that no party would compromise its long-held principles merely for one or two seats.
