JaPa remains in electoral race; will contest 283 seats: Chunnu

Putting an end to speculations, the Jatiya Party today (17 December) announced that it would stay in the race during the national elections, slated for 7 January. 

At a press conference following the party's meeting, which began at 11:00am at the party chairman's office in Banani, Mujibul Haque Chunnu, JaPa general secretary, said the party was going to participate in the polls citing satisfactory election environment.

"Not under any alliance, the Jatiya Party will participate in the election under its own symbol," Chunnu further said.

"The government is guiding the Election Commission towards fair elections. In light of that, the commission has guaranteed that they would help us through whatever we may need as we approach elections. 

"That's why, from our side, our chairman's side, I urge that all Jatiya Party candidates [to bear in mind] participate in the national elections, so that it is fair and competitive. We will work with that aim," he said.

"The decision to participate in the elections is not a matter of compromise with the government. This is a party decision," he had said earlier. 

He reaffirmed that the party would contest in 283 seats as decided earlier.

The main agenda of the meeting centred the 26 seats that sources say the AL has offered it to contest in the polls.  

AL sources had earlier said the party would withdraw its candidates from 37 constituencies, leaving 26 seats for the JaPa, seven for the 14-Party Alliance and four for other parties.

This decision, which has apparently been communicated internally, has not sat well with the JaPa, who were holding out for 50 seats. 

JaPa sources also said the party would have settled for 35 seats. The decision to also allow independent candidates with an AL history to contest in the seats allocated to the JaPa has also raised eyebrows.

Another source from the JaPa indicated that a significant section might withdraw their nominations even though there is an agreement with the AL. 

Regarding the agreement with Awami League, Chunnu said in the conference, "We are contesting in 283 seats. There may be strategies in some places, I am not telling you [journalists] now."

"The AL is unwilling to concede more than 26 seats, and independent candidates are not withdrawing their nominations either," a senior leader under the condition of anonymity said. 

Against this backdrop, the JaPa is expected to make an announcement regarding their participation and the modality of it soon. 

The discussion between JaPa and the AL regarding the sharing of seats has been going on for several days now. 

JaPa is still aiming for more seats. Thus, the discussions are expected to continue. 

According to sources, the AL agreed to allocate 26 seats to JaPa after several meetings, although none of it includes any seats in Dhaka. 

JaPa, a long-standing political ally of the AL, initially demanded 50 seats, stating they would not agree to anything less than 35 seats, the party sources said.

The AL came to power with JaPa back in 1996. Since then, there has been a seat-sharing arrangement between the two parties in every general election. 

Although JaPa had initially announced they would contest the elections independently, both parties eventually agreed to distribute seats, continuing their discussions in this regard.

Notably, today (17 December) is the final day for withdrawing candidacy.