Bangladesh Labour Party enters Jamaat-e-Islami-Led alliance before elections

Bangladesh Labour Party joins Jamaat alliance

A new party joined the Jamaat-e-Islami-led electoral alliance on Saturday ahead of Bangladesh’s February 12 parliamentary election.

With the Bangladesh Labour Party (BLP) coming on board, the alliance now again consists of 11 partners, a week after an Islamic party announced its departure. Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is the country’s largest Islamic political party.

The inclusion of the BLP was announced at a press conference by the party’s chairman, Mostafizur Rahman Iran, alongside Jamaat Assistant Secretary General and National Election Management Committee Convener Maulana A T M Masum, according to the state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS).

The party was brought into the alliance “after discussing with the central leaders of the 10 parties,” Masum told Bangla newspaper Prathom Alo.

“We believe what is needed is not just a change of power, but a meaningful transformation of the state,” BLP chairman Iran told The Business Standard.

With the Labour Party’s inclusion, the alliance again comprises 11 parties: Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, Khelafat Majlis, Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan, Bangladesh Nezam-e-Islam Party, Bangladesh Development Party, Jatiya Ganatantrik Party (NDP), National Citizen Party (NCP), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), AB Party, and Bangladesh Labour Party, BSS reported.

Earlier, on January 16, Islamic Movement Bangladesh (also known as Islami Andolan Bangladesh) announced it was leaving the Jamaat-led alliance. Islami Andolan Bangladesh leader Gazi Ataur Rahman said the party withdrew after being “deprived of justice” over seat allocations and accused the alliance of “deviating from Islamic ideals.”

Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has emerged as the frontrunner in the altered political landscape following the interim government’s disbanding of deposed Premier Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League last year.

Despite ideological differences, the Islamic parties recently formed the grand alliance to consolidate votes under what they called the “one box policy.”