Crack in seat sharing? Extreme uncertainty over the presence of Charmonai Pir and Mamunul Haque in Jamaat's alliance

Due to dissatisfaction with the electoral seat agreement, there has been great uncertainty over the presence of Islami Andolan Bangladesh and Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis in the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance. Charmonai Pir Syed Muhammad Rezaul Karim's party Islami Andolan Bangladesh and Allama Mamunul Haque's Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis are rethinking whether to remain in the alliance after not getting the expected concessions in seat sharing. However, Jamaat is preparing to announce the final decision on seat sharing with 10 parties through a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

According to party sources and on-site information, on Tuesday afternoon, the top and grassroots leaders of the party gathered at a madrasa in Rampura from the central office of Islami Andolan in Purana Paltan. Leaders and activists from all over the country arrived there in convoys. After the Maghrib prayers, the party's Shura Council closed-door meeting began. In this meeting, the leaders expressed strong dissatisfaction with various aspects of the seat agreement with Jamaat.

The Islamic Movement was initially interested in holding elections in more than a hundred seats. Later, the party gradually reduced its demands in order to move the discussions forward. Although they finally demanded more than 50 seats, Jamaat agreed to give up a maximum of 40 seats. A large section of the party considers this proposal 'insulting'. During the meeting, leaders and activists were seen guarding the madrasa building tightly, so that no outsiders could enter.

The meeting, which began in the evening, lasted until late at night, with a break for Isha prayers in the middle. Even at 12:15 am, leaders and activists were seen discussing the seat agreement in small groups under the madrasa. Many leaders joined the meeting in their cars even after 12:45 am. Finally, the meeting ended at 1 am, but no final decision was made.

Leaders of the Islamic Movement said that the final decision has been entrusted to the Majlis-e-Amela (the party's highest policy-making forum). The Majlis-e-Amela meeting is scheduled to be held after the Zuhr prayers today, Wednesday. The party's position will be clarified after that meeting.

Party sources say that after the mass uprising, the Islamic Movement took the initiative to form an alliance on the 'one box' principle - that is, the compromise parties will put forward one candidate for one seat. Initially, the Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis, Khilafat Majlis, Bangladesh Khilafat Andolan and Bangladesh Nezami Islam Party joined these discussions. Later, Jamaat joined as the sixth party. Then the Jatiya Ganatantrik Party (JAGPA) and Bangladesh Development Party (BDP) also joined the discussions.

However, there are allegations that Jamaat later took some decisions alone. Other parties are particularly upset over the separate meetings held with the National Citizens Party (NCP), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Amar Bangladesh Party (AB Party) to discuss seat sharing. They were alleged to have not been informed about these meetings in advance.

On the other hand, the Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis is also unhappy with the seat distribution. Although the party is demanding 25 to 30 seats, Jamaat is willing to make concessions in a maximum of 20 seats. If the desired seats are not obtained, the Khilafat Majlis is in favor of keeping candidates open in the seats where concessions will not be made.

Further anger has arisen within the Islamic Movement due to Jamaat Amir Shafiqur Rahman's meeting with BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and discussions on forming a national government. Many leaders of the Islamic Movement see this as hypocrisy.

On Tuesday night, a central leader of the Islamic Movement, on condition of anonymity, said that an important party involved in the seat agreement had earlier proposed that the five parties involved in the discussion would hold elections together and the matter would be informed to Jamaat. But that discussion did not proceed further.

The leader also said that in the end, the decision to remain in the seat agreement depends entirely on the party's Ameer Charmonai Pir. If he wants, there will be an agreement, if not, no recommendations from any forum will be effective.

Meanwhile, Islamic Movement Presidium Member Ashraf Ali Akon said that the party's position will be clarified after the Majlis-e-Amela meeting today. On the other hand, the leaders of the Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis led by Mamunul Haque also said that they are not completely satisfied with Jamaat's proposal.

Overall, due to the tension over seat distribution, the presence of Charmonai Pir and Mamunul Haque in the Jamaat-led alliance still remains uncertain.