JaPa faces election test amid crisis, uncertainty

The Jatiya Party (JaPa) is contesting the 13th parliamentary election amid widespread unrest following the 2024 student-led uprising that toppled the Awami League government.

Despite 17 months of internal divisions and protests calling for its ban, the party is now contesting the parliamentary polls.

However, the party candidates claim they are facing pressure, including hurdles to their campaigning.
 The party, which served three terms as the opposition to the Hasina-led Awami League government, began facing challenges after the fall of the regime often labelled “fascist” and accused by rival parties of being a “fascist collaborator”. 

Following the fall of the Awami League government, JaPa leaders attended a meeting with the Chief of Army Staff and the President at Bangabhaban. They were also invited to the first dialogue of the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government but were later excluded after demands from the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement. Later, political parties such as Jamaat-e-Islami, the National Citizens Party (NCP), and Gono Odhikar Parishad (GOP) called for a ban on JaPa.

The GOP also clashed physically with JaPa activists during protests demanding the party’s ban, while JaPa offices across the country were repeatedly vandalised and set on fire.

After the 5 August 2024 uprising, GM Quader’s close associates in the party were sidelined, deepening internal instability. Both the party chairman and rebel leaders struggled to assert control, fuelling further unrest. Later in August last year, a conference was held by Anisul Islam Mahmud, Mujibul Haque Chunnu, and ABM Ruhul Amin Howlader -- formerly allied with GM Quader -- alongside Kazi Firoz Rashid and Syed Abu Hossain Babla, who were aligned with Roushan.

They declared the gathering as the 10th National Conference, notably held without GM Quader and his followers.

At the conference, Anisul Islam Mahmud was elected party chairman and ABM Ruhul Amin Howlader as general secretary. Both had previously been expelled by GM Quader along with eight other leaders.
In July, the court later imposed a temporary injunction on GM Quader and joint office secretary Mahmud Alam. The Jatiya Party (JaPa) is contesting the upcoming parliamentary polls amid internal turmoil, fielding 195 relatively low-profile candidates.

Meanwhile, incidents of attacks on homes, office vandalism and arson, and obstacles to campaigning have been reported.

Jatiya Party candidate for Dhaka-6, Amir Uddin Ahmed, claimed they are facing obstacles in their campaigning.
He alleged a lack of a level playing field, saying, “Two parties are contesting while we are merely spectators. In the name of the election, our hands have been tied, leaving us stranded on the riverbank.”