Dhaka, Jan 16 (V7N) — Charmonai Pir-led Islami Andolan Bangladesh has announced that it will not join the Jamaat-led electoral alliance ahead of the upcoming 13th National Parliament elections, opting instead to contest the polls independently.

The announcement was made by the party’s Joint Secretary General and spokesperson, Gazi Ataur Rahman, at a press conference held at the party’s central office in Purana Paltan on Friday afternoon.

Gazi Ataur Rahman said the party follows a policy of independent political engagement and will contest the election using its own electoral symbol. He confirmed that Islami Andolan will field candidates in 268 parliamentary constituencies, and none of them will withdraw their nomination papers.

“We cannot deceive the religious sentiments of the people of this country,” he said. “For a long time, we have been working to establish Islam, Islamic ideals and a welfare state based on Islamic values. We cannot deviate from this goal.”

Referring to the recent developments within the Jamaat-led alliance, he said that although Islami Andolan participated in discussions and attended earlier alliance-related events, the party felt that the core objective of uniting pro-Islamic forces might not be achieved at the final stage.

“From this concern, we felt the need to safeguard our ideological position,” he added.

Gazi Ataur Rahman further stated that Islami Andolan had initially submitted nomination papers for 270 seats, of which two were rejected on appeal, leaving 268 candidates currently in the race. He emphasized that the party does not practice power-centric politics but instead follows principles, justice, and ideological commitment, even if that leads to political challenges.

While acknowledging Jamaat-e-Islami as a major political force, he claimed that Islami Andolan is not inferior ideologically or morally to any other party.

On Thursday night, the Jamaat-led alliance announced its seat-sharing arrangement, under which BNP will contest 179 seats, NCP 30, Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis 20, Khilafat Majlis 10, LDP 7, Nezami Islam Party 2, AB Party 3, and Bangladesh Development Party 2 seats.

Islami Andolan Bangladesh was absent from the press conference announcing the agreement. Alliance sources had earlier indicated that around 50 seats were being considered for Islami Andolan candidates. However, no final agreement was reached.

Earlier, leaders of 10 alliance partners held a meeting at the Jamaat office in the absence of Islami Andolan. Following that meeting, Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis leader Amir Mamunul Haque expressed hope that Islami Andolan would eventually join the alliance, saying efforts were ongoing to reach a consensus.

Initially, Islami Andolan had reportedly sought over 100 seats to retain its position as the second-largest force within the alliance, later lowering its expectation to at least 50 seats. However, the party on Friday emphasized that its decision to stay out of the alliance was based on ideological considerations, not merely seat allocation.

END/SMA/AJ