Bangladesh: NCP defends Jamaat tie-up as electoral move amid deepening internal dissent

Dhaka, Dec 29 (IANS) As the National Citizen Party (NCP) announced its decision to join a Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance ahead of the Bangladesh general elections, triggering sharp internal dissent, party convenor Nahid Islam moved to clarify that the partnership was purely electoral and not based on any ideological convergence. Islam said the NCP had initially been preparing to contest the upcoming polls independently and had drawn up plans to field candidates in all 300 parliamentary constituencies. However, he said the political...