Nahid Islam, a 27-year-old former student leader who helped lead Bangladesh’s 2024 youth uprising, is contesting the February 12 election as head of the National Citizen Party (NCP). The NCP emerged from the anti-Hasina protests that toppled the previous government and now seeks to position itself as a centrist alternative to the country’s entrenched political dynasties. However, its decision to join an 11-party alliance dominated by Jamaat-e-Islami has divided supporters and raised questions about whether the movement’s reformist spirit can survive electoral compromise.

The alliance grants Jamaat 222 of 300 constituencies, while the NCP fields 30 candidates, including Islam in Dhaka-11. Islam defends the partnership as a pragmatic electoral arrangement to overcome the NCP’s organizational weakness, arguing it broadens the coalition beyond Islamist politics. Critics, including academics and activists, counter that the deal risks co-opting the NCP and lending Jamaat undue legitimacy, especially given its controversial stance on women’s and minority rights. Surveys suggest a close race between the BNP and the Jamaat-led bloc, with the NCP holding a small but potentially decisive share of votes.

Analysts say the NCP’s future hinges on whether it can maintain independence after the election or become absorbed by its larger ally.