Jamaat, allies postpone seat-sharing announcement

The 11-party alliance, led by Jamaat-e-Islami, has postponed the press conference to announce its final seat-sharing decision.
The scheduled event was postponed, according to a message sent at 2:15 pm on Wednesday by Hamidur Rahman Azad, Jamaat assistant secretary general, and coordinator of the 11-party alliance.
Earlier in the day, another notice signed by Hamidur Rahman Azad had stated that the press conference was scheduled to be held at 4:30 pm at the Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh, in the capital.
No final consensus has yet been reached. However, seat-sharing talks among Jamaat-e-Islami, the National Citizen Party, and nine other parties for the 13th Jatiya Sangsad elections are still going.
The alliance includes Jamaat-e-Islami, National Citizen Party, Islami Andolon Bangladesh (IAB), Bangladesh Khilafat Andolon, Bangladesh Khilafat Majlish, Khilafat Majlish, Nezam-e-Islam Party, National Democratic Party, Bangladesh Development Party (BDP), AB Party, and LDP.
Meanwhile, following the postponement of Jamaat's press conference, uncertainty has emerged over whether IAB and Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis will continue in the 11-party alliance, amid growing dissatisfaction over seat-sharing arrangements and deepening mistrust, sources said.
IAB, led by Syed Muhammad Rezaul Karim, held a closed-door meeting with party leaders who filed nomination papers for the national polls at a madrasa in the capital's Rampura on Tuesday night.
According to internal sources, leaders from the central to grassroots levels expressed dissatisfaction over several aspects of the electoral understanding with Jamaat.

talhabinhabib@yahoo.com