Tasnim Jara resigns from NCP, to contest as independent candidate

Tasnim Jara has resigned from the National Citizen Party, NCP, and announced that she will contest the upcoming parliamentary election as an independent candidate from the Dhaka-9 constituency.

She made the announcement on Saturday evening through a post on her verified Facebook page.

In the post, Tasnim Jara wrote that due to practical considerations, she has decided not to contest the election as a candidate of any specific party or alliance. She said she had promised the people that she would fight for them and work towards building a new political culture, and regardless of the circumstances, she remains determined to keep that promise. For this reason, she will contest the election from Dhaka-9 as an independent candidate.

She said that candidates backed by political parties usually have local party offices, organised activist networks and avenues to raise concerns related to security or administration with the authorities. As she is not aligned with any party, she will not have those advantages. She added that the people are her only source of strength, and if they support her as their daughter, based on her honesty, commitment and determination to practise a new kind of politics, she will get the opportunity to serve them.

Tasnim Jara highlighted two key issues in her announcement.

First, she said that under legal requirements, an independent candidate must submit a specific form with signatures of support from 4,693 registered voters of the Dhaka-9 constituency. She said the process of collecting these signatures would begin on Sunday, noting that gathering such a large number of signatures in a single day is almost impossible without spontaneous public support. She called on volunteers willing to help by providing space or assisting in the process to come forward.

Second, she addressed campaign donations received earlier. She said that those who wish to have their donations refunded due to her decision to contest as an independent will be respected. She informed that donors who contributed via mobile financial services can apply for refunds by submitting a form, after which the transactions will be verified and the money returned. She added that donors who contributed through banks will be informed soon about the refund process.