Impasse as AL, JaPa stick to their guns over seat sharing

Despite several recent meetings, the Awami League and the Jatiya Party have yet to reach an agreement on sharing seats, with no decision reported as of the latest update. 

The two parties were in another meeting while filing this report at 10pm on Saturday.

Although 26 seats have been offered by the AL, JaPa leaders are continuing to negotiate to increase the number to 35-40, according to sources of the two parties.

A JaPa leader told The Business Standard that if the AL does not meet their demand, the Jatiya Party may withdraw from the upcoming national elections. 

In the last three elections, the Jatiya Party was either in alliance or in negotiation with the ruling party, he said. "Now JaPa is not asking much. It is not a big deal if a party like Jatiya Party wants 35-40 seats."

If the Jatiya Party withdraws from the election, no one will be interested in it, said the leader.

The AL on Thursday announced that it would be sharing just seven seats with members of the 14-party alliance. 

Among the seven seats, three other members of the alliance: Hasanul Huq Inu's Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) and Rashed Khan Menon's Workers Party would get three each, while Anwar Hossain Manju's Jatiya Party (JP) would fight for one seat on behalf of the alliance.

Valid candidates can withdraw nomination by 4pm Sunday. Parties need to inform the returning officer in writing about their final candidate and allocate party symbols within the period. 

Also, if a party wants to allocate its party symbol in favour of a candidate of the allied party, it must be done within this period.

On Monday, the returning officers will allot symbols in favour of valid candidates. After that, parties or candidates can officially start campaigning.

Meeting on Saturday

Following unsuccessful talks on seat-sharing last Friday, the JaPa on Saturday announced its intention to engage in further discussions with the ruling Awami League on Saturday in an effort to resolve the lingering issue.

"We will hold a meeting with the Awami League today (Saturday). Meetings will continue until the 7 January election," JaPa Secretary General Mujibul Haque Chunnu told the media on Saturday.

Party insiders were anticipating that a final decision regarding seat-sharing could be reached in the meeting, considering that Sunday marks the last day for the withdrawal of nomination forms.

About Friday's meeting, JaPa's Chunnu said, "There was no discussion on the number of seats or any specific seats. In fact, our main focus has been on ensuring fair elections. The issue of seat compromise is not the primary concern."

On the other side, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, a presidium member of the AL, expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the Friday meeting. 

"The meeting was productive. Both parties will separately brief the media about this on Saturday," Nanak informed reporters after the meeting," he said.

Conflict within JaPa

Meanwhile, there is conflict within the JaPa. The party's chief patron Raushan Ershad and her supporters are not contesting from the Jatiya Party. On Tuesday, Roshan Ershad herself requested the prime minister not to make any alliance or compromise with the Jatiya Party.

In 2008, the JaPa contested 49 seats in a grand coalition, with the AL not fielding candidates in 29 of them. 

In the 2014 elections, Jatiya Party won 33 seats and AL did not field any candidates in these seats. 

In 2018, the Awami League gave Jatiya Party 26 seats, but the party won 21 of them. 

Political analysts assert that without a seat compromise, winning elections will be challenging for the Jatiya Party. The party has no chance of winning 4-5 seats unless the ruling party gives up seats.