Samanta Sharmin, a prominent leader of the National Citizen Party (NCP), announced her resignation from the organisation on Thursday, 5 November. In a detailed statement published on her social media account, Sharmin outlined a series of ideological fractures, citing the party’s controversial political alliance with Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, the marginalisation of women’s rights following the 2024 mass uprising, and the erosion of internal democratic practices as the primary reasons for her departure.
Sharmin revealed that her disagreement with the party leadership over partnering with Jamaat-e-Islami began nearly a year ago. She argued within internal party forums that Jamaat was unsuited as a political ally on both ethical and strategic grounds. Over the past eleven months, she submitted written objections and engaged in debates to steer the NCP back towards its founding principles. However, she concluded that the party could no longer remain authentic to its initial post-uprising vision of state reform, opting instead to align itself with traditional political forces.
In her statement, Sharmin detailed four fundamental areas where the NCP had compromised its vision. Addressing the party’s relationship with Jamaat-e-Islami, she noted that the 2024 uprising demanded structural reforms across constitutional, legal, and political frameworks. She argued that Jamaat does not genuinely embrace democratic reform, but rather uses democratic mechanisms to advance a far-right, authoritarian agenda. By aligning with Jamaat—a party that has refused to apologise for its role in 1971—the NCP, she asserted, alienated the democratic majority of the country.
Critiquing the party’s electoral strategy ahead of the 2026 general election, Sharmin expressed dismay that the NCP abandoned its potential as a transformative political movement. Instead of building an independent platform or uniting with genuine reformist forces, the party chose to join an eleven-party alliance led by established political giants. She rejected the party leadership’s justification of using the tragic demise of martyr Osman Hadi to rationalise subservient electoral coalitions, calling such reasoning flawed and opportunist.
Sharmin also condemned the systemic marginalisation of women within both the NCP and the broader political landscape following the 2024 uprising. Although women served as vital catalysts, frontline fighters, and protectors during the protests, traditional conservative factions quickly moved to exclude them from post-victory decision-making. Despite women constituting nearly 51 per cent of the national population, the NCP adopted patriarchy-driven decisions, failed to implement affirmative action, and mirrored conservative, anti-women political practices.
Regarding internal governance, Sharmin highlighted how the NCP bypassed scheduled party councils to repeatedly restructure its convenor committee without democratic mandates. She warned that an organisation unable to practice internal democracy lacks the credibility to champion state-level democratic reforms. Moving forward, Sharmin called upon youth activists to build an inclusive political movement focused on national sovereignty, independent foreign policy, economic equity, and genuine gender equality, inviting like-minded citizens to join her in advancing a truly democratic vision for Bangladesh.
