Jatiya Party wants to join election in alliance with BNP or Jamaat

Despite uncertainty over the national election, the Jatiya Party (JaPa), a former ally of the Awami League, has started its candidate selection and election preparation. The party said if it finally gets a ‘green signal’, it will strongly enter the election field.

Top leaders of the party said that if given the opportunity, Jatiya Party wants to contest the election not alone but in alliance. If necessary, they have also expressed interest in forming an alliance with either the BNP or Jamaat-e-Islami.

Jatiya Party Secretary General Shamim Haider Patwary said that the process of selecting candidates for all 300 constituencies is underway and the list for some seats is almost final. He said, “The party chairman has talked to many people. We have an idea of who could be candidates in which seats. It will not take long to announce the list.”

Although the party is initially preparing for all constituencies, the final number of seats to be contested will depend on the political situation.

Leaders of Jatiya Party think that participating in the election as an alliance will increase the number of seats and influence of the party. Shamim Haider Patwary said, “If we take part as an alliance, both Jatiya Party and its allies will get more seats and votes.”

He also said, “There is no end in politics. We know many parties are interested in forming an alliance with us, and we are also interested. But everything will depend on the political situation after the election schedule is announced.”

From Thursday, the Election Commission (EC) will start dialogues with various political parties. However, it is not yet certain whether Jatiya Party will be invited.

Sources in the EC said that due to internal division, the party has submitted separate committees to the commission. The EC said if the party can resolve its internal crisis, then the commission will hold dialogues and take election-related decisions with them.

Election Commissioner Anwarul Islam Sarkar said, “They have some internal problems. Once they resolve them, the commission will decide.”

After the Awami League was ousted from power and banned, Jatiya Party also became somewhat politically cornered. However, its activities have not been banned and registration has not been suspended, so there is no legal obstacle to taking election preparations.

Although the party joined one meeting with the interim government, it was not invited to the subsequent dialogues.

Jatiya Party believes that the uncertainty over participating in the election will be cleared after the schedule is announced, and then it will decide about possible alliances.

According to the Jatiya Party Secretary General, before the 2001 election there was an opportunity to form an alliance with BNP-Jamaat, which was not implemented in the end. He said, “This time too, Jatiya Party is not ruling out the possibility of an alliance with BNP or Jamaat. How realistic it will be depends on the political atmosphere after the schedule is announced.”