National Citizen Party (NCP) Joint Convener Samanta Sharmin has resigned from the party, citing its alliance with Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, “deviation” from its founding principles, “failure” to ensure women's political rights and lack of internal democracy.
In a post on her verified Facebook page on Thursday, Sharmin said she no longer believed the NCP was sincere about upholding the values on which it was founded, despite her repeated efforts over the past 11 months to bring changes through internal discussions and written proposals.
“I believe it is no longer possible for the NCP to remain sincere to the values on which the party was founded,” she said.
Sharmin said she had opposed an alliance with Jamaat from the outset, arguing that the party was neither a principled nor a strategic partner for the NCP and that the alliance would come at a high political cost.
She accused Jamaat of not genuinely supporting democratic reforms and said its political philosophy and proposed state structure were incompatible with a democratic system.
Criticising the NCP's electoral strategy, Sharmin said the party had sacrificed its independent political identity and the possibility of building a new political direction after the July 2024 mass uprising by joining an alliance with established political forces in the 2026 election.
She also alleged that the NCP had failed to recognise women's contributions to the uprising by ensuring their meaningful representation in leadership and decision-making, instead following conservative political trends.
Sharmin further criticised the party leadership for restructuring its convening committee without holding a council, saying the move had undermined internal democracy and reflected the practices of traditional political parties.
She said she had repeatedly urged the leadership to reconsider these issues, but the party showed no willingness to change its course.
Outlining her future political vision, Sharmin called for a new political force based on national unity, democratic governance, sovereignty, women's equal participation and economic justice.
She urged young people to build a political platform beyond traditional party divisions, stressing that Bangladesh's national interests must remain above the interests of any foreign power.