Samantha follows Zara and Jabeen in leaving NCP over Jamaat alliance

After Tasnim Zara and Tajnuva Jabeen, another prominent figure in the National Citizen Party (NCP), Samantha Sharmin, has left the party.

She announced her resignation in a statement on Thursday, citing differences over several issues, including the reconstitution of the central committee without a council, the formation of an alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami and the party’s position on women’s issues.

She has already submitted her resignation letter to NCP Convener Nahid Islam.

Samantha Sharmin has been associated with the NCP since its inception. Around two weeks ago, the party restructured its central convening committee. At that time, she was moved from the position of Senior Joint Convener to Joint Convener.

She did not make any direct comments about her demotion. However, in her statement announcing her departure, she criticized the process of restructuring the committee.

The NCP did not immediately respond to the resignation of the prominent female leader of the July Mass Uprising or the allegations she raised.

The three of them. Photo collage: Agamir Somoy

Dispute over Jamaat

In her statement, Samantha Sharmin said, “Over the past 11 months, I have submitted written complaints and proposals at various levels of the NCP regarding an assessment of the party’s past activities and its future course of action. I have also tried to change the party’s policy positions through discussions, arguments and debates. I continued the internal ideological struggle because I considered it my political responsibility to bring the party back on track if it took the wrong path.”

She had earlier warned that the NCP would have to pay a heavy price if it formed an alliance with Jamaat. She now believes the NCP will no longer be able to remain committed to the values on which it was founded.

In her statement, Samantha Sharmin alleged that by forming an alliance with Jamaat, the NCP had moved away from the politics of reform.

According to her, establishing a democratic state requires constitutional reforms, legal reforms and structural reforms in politics and political parties. However, Jamaat-e-Islami does not consider these reforms part of its political agenda or vision for the state.

She claimed that Jamaat does not genuinely practice reform-oriented politics. Rather, the party talks about reform because it needs to use the aspirations of the mass uprising to serve its own interests.

She also commented that Jamaat’s political philosophy and proposed state structure are not democratic.

According to Samantha Sharmin, the differences between Jamaat’s political position and the NCP’s own position are becoming increasingly unclear. As a result, pro-liberal democracy supporters have been forced to turn away from the NCP.

Before the 13th parliamentary election, six female NCP leaders took different positions on forming an alliance with Jamaat. Besides Samantha Sharmin, Tasnim Zara, Tajnuva Jabeen, Nusrat Tabassum, Monira Sharmin and Nahida Sarwar Niva visited the residence of party Convener Nahid Islam two days before the announcement of the electoral alliance to express their objections.

At least 30 central leaders also submitted a memorandum to senior party leaders.

Photo: NCP logo

Samantha Sharmin also mentioned in her statement that the NCP had the opportunity to contest the election independently.

Another major allegation she raised was that the party had failed to properly recognize women’s contributions and political aspirations during the mass uprising.

She said, “Women were frontline fighters, partners in resistance and important guardians of the movement during the mass uprising. However, after the uprising, old conservative political forces tried to deprive women of their political rights and rightful share. The NCP has also followed this tendency in various respects.”

Criticizing the reconstitution of the central committee without holding a council, Samantha Sharmin said, “The reconstitution of the committee without a council has damaged the party’s democratic environment. It has also raised questions about leadership selection, impartiality and the decision-making process.”

She also highlighted the need for politics of unity instead of divisive politics.

Tasnim Zara’s resignation

In the final week of December 2025, Tasnim Zara, then Senior Joint Member Secretary of the NCP, left the party.

At the time, discussions were underway within the party about a seat-sharing arrangement with Jamaat. Several NCP sources had said that she strongly opposed an alliance with Jamaat. At one point, she resigned before the announcement of the electoral alliance.

Tasnim Zara did not immediately comment on the matter after leaving the party. However, at an event titled “National Election and Citizens’ Expectations” in the second week of January, she said, “People want change. They are no longer willing to accept the old political arrangements. Driven by this aspiration for change, I decided to leave the party and contest the election as an independent candidate.”

The NCP initially nominated Tasnim Zara for the Dhaka-9 constituency in the 13th parliamentary election. She later contested as an independent candidate.

In the constituency, BNP candidate Habibur Rashid won with 111,212 votes. Tasnim Zara finished third with 44,684 votes.

Photo: NCP Convener Nahid Islam

What Tajnuva Jabeen said

Tajnuva Jabeen, then Joint Convener of the NCP, also left the party over its decision to form an alliance with Jamaat. She also withdrew from the election.

Later, she explained the reasons for leaving the party in a lengthy social media post.

At the beginning of the post, Tajnuva wrote, “This is being labeled as political strategy, an electoral alliance and so on. I would say this was planned. The situation was deliberately engineered to bring things to this point.”

Tajnuva Jabeen claimed that political alternatives had gradually been closed off so that there would be no option other than forming an alliance with Jamaat. According to her, the entire process was planned.

Referring to Jamaat’s ideology, she wrote, “But reaching an understanding with those who never wanted this country or this parliament in the first place, wanting to become an MP right at the beginning, or accepting the leadership of those who are desperately trying to become MPs through their favor is simply impossible for me in the year following the mass uprising.”

She further wrote, “I cannot stomach this and live with it. My leader must be someone with courage who carries the legacy of July politics. But under the name of political strategy, the entire July movement is being handed over to Jamaat.”

After the schedule for the parliamentary election was announced, the NCP initially declared that it would field candidates in all 300 constituencies.

However, after forming an alliance with Jamaat at the last moment, the party secured the opportunity to field candidates in only 30 constituencies.

Tajnuva Jabeen had commented that the decision was a strategy to prevent other party leaders from contesting the election.

Although she opposed the alliance with Jamaat, Nusrat Tabassum later became a member of parliament from a reserved seat for women.

Monira Sharmin was initially nominated for the reserved seat. However, she could not take the oath because three years had not passed since she resigned from her government job.