Maulana Ubaidullah Faruk, president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, said on Monday that the party will not be part of the Islamist electoral alliance that is currently being formed.
While speaking to Stream, Faruk said, "We are open to forming a coalition with the BNP if necessary, but under no circumstances would we ally with Jamaat-e-Islami."
The Jamiat president however denied rumours that the party had already reached a seat-sharing agreement with the BNP.
Following the political shift on 5 August last year, Islami Andolan Bangladesh initiated efforts to form an independent Islamist alliance. Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam was reportedly among five initial allies, and there were talks of Jamaat-e-Islami joining to form a united Islamist vote bank. However, Jamiat has withdrawn from the alliance even before its official formation.
Jamiat was formerly part of the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance and later a key party in the BNP-led 20-Party Alliance. However, on 14 July 2021, Jamiat officially left the coalition.
There is concern that if Jamaat and Islami Andolan form an Islamist alliance, it could alienate Islamist voters from the BNP. To prevent this, the BNP has been reaching out to various Islamist parties, including Jamiat.
On 31 January this year, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Standing Committee member Nazrul Islam Khan held a meeting with Jamiat's top leaders, including President Maulana Ubaidullah Faruk, Vice-President Maulana Junaid Al Habib, Secretary General Maulana Manjurul Islam Afendi, Maulana Abdur Rab Yousufi, and several other senior figures, at the BNP Chairperson's political office in Gulshan.
On 4 August, Jamiat leaders once again met with the BNP officials at the party's political office.
Following the meeting, Jamiat Secretary General Manjurul Islam Afendi asserted that the two parties have a long history of engagement and will continue communication in the future.
Despite these growing ties with the BNP, Jamiat had been participating in efforts to build a broader Islamist electoral alliance. However, they were absent from the latest liaison committee meeting held on Thursday.
Multiple Jamiat leaders told Stream that they believe an electoral alliance with the BNP would give them a better chance at winning parliamentary seats in the upcoming national election. A rumour has been spread over social media that Jamiat has already reached a deal for four parliamentary seats with the BNP.
However, Jamiat's president has denied any finalised seat-sharing agreement and emphasised that the meetings with BNP were not about allying.
The main reason Jamiat is avoiding the Islamist alliance appears to be their ideological conflict with Jamaat-e-Islami.
In early August, a video of the Jamiat president went viral on Facebook, in which he referred to the attempted Islamist unity as a "foolish coalition" and strongly criticised Jamaat.
In response, Jamaat's Nayeb-e-Ameer and former member of parliament Mujibur Rahman told Stream that Jamaat remains committed to building unity among all Islamist parties.
"In this critical time, we're maintaining good relations and continuing dialogue with all Islamic parties, aiming to consolidate Islamist votes under one banner in the upcoming election. This is everyone's wish, including ours."
Speaking to Stream, Jamiat President Farooq said, "We will not form a coalition with Jamaat. We sat repeatedly with non-Jamaat parties. But they meet with us and also with Jamaat."
He expressed frustration that, despite more than a year of discussions, no Islamist coalition has yet been finalised. While Jamiat would not obstruct a Jamaat-included alliance, Farooq called the ongoing efforts "mysterious."
Speaking anonymously, a senior Jamiat leader from Sylhet said the party views Jamaat as a long-term ideological threat and does not see a future in aligning with them.
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