With the 13th National Parliament elections fast approaching, Bangladesh's political parties have launched full-scale "vote-hunt" mode. In this high-stakes race, the Jatiya Party (JP)-long a key swing player-finds itself wrestling with internal rifts, legal wrangles and an unsettled political landscape.
The debate over JP's participation has sharpened in the absence of the Awami League from the contest. While the BNP has publicly welcomed JP's involvement, parties such as Jamaat-e-Islami, the National Citizen Party (NCP) and GonoOdhikarParishad remain openly opposed.
"There is no scope to keep the Jatiya Party out of the upcoming elections," Election Commissioner AbdurRahmanelMachud said recently, stressing that the party's registration remains legally valid. "Accordingly, the Jatiya Party will be able to participate under the law."
Founded on January 1, 1986, the Jatiya Party has been plagued by factionalism since the fall of its founder Hussain Muhammad Ershad during the mass uprising of December 6, 1990. The first major split came that year, when Secretary General Dr MA Matin and several MPs broke ranks with Ershad.
Further fractures followed in 1997, 1998, 2001, 2013, 2024 and again on August 9 last year, culminating in rival factions led by Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud and Ruhul Amin Howlader.
Leadership disputes have repeatedly spilled into courtrooms, particularly over control of the party's electoral symbol. In 1999, Anwar Hossain Manju challenged Ershad's claim to the plough symbol, but the court ruled in Ershad'sfavour. After Ershad's death, RaushanErshad revived the dispute, seeking the symbol for her faction. Today, the battle centres on the GM Quader and Anisul Islam Mahmud factions.
Since the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government on August 5, 2024, JP-frequently labelled by critics as "collaborators of fascists"-has come under pressure from Islamist-inspired parties and newly emerged political forces after the July Revolution.
Party leaders and activists have faced multiple cases, offices have been vandalised, and calls to ban the party have surfaced. A recent writ petition sought to bar candidates from Jatiya Party (Ershad), Jatiya Party (Anisul Islam Mahmud) and JP (Anwar Hossain Manju) from contesting. Its dismissal cleared the legal path for JP's participation.
Both major JP factions entered the race claiming legitimacy-and the plough. The Anisul Islam Mahmud faction held a separate council and asserted itself as the "real" Jatiya Party, while the GM Quader faction opted for solo contestation.
The National Democratic Front (NDF), an 18-party alliance including the Anisul Mahmud and Manju factions, announced 132 candidates for 122 seats on December 23. In contrast, the GM Quader-led JP nominated 243 candidates for 224 seats, eventually retaining 196 candidacies after scrutiny and appeals.
