Wikipedia

Jatiya Party (Ershad)

For other uses, see Jatiya Party (disambiguation).

The Jatiya Party (Bengali: জাতীয় পার্টি, romanized: Jatiyo Party, lit. 'National Party'; JaPa or JP(E)) is a political party in Bangladesh. The current chairman of the party is Ghulam Muhammed Quader. On 3 January 2019, the party announced its decision to join the Bangladesh Awami League-led Grand Alliance after having been in opposition for the previous parliamentary term.[8] However, the party backtracked the next day and announced that it intended to remain part of the opposition.[9]

Jatiya Party
জাতীয় পার্টি
AbbreviationJaPa/JP(E)
ChairmanGhulam Muhammed Quader[1]
General SecretaryMohammad Mujibul Haque Chunnu
Senior Co-ChairmanAnisul Islam Mahmud
FounderHussain Muhd. Ershad
Founded1 January 1986
(38 years ago) (1986-01-01)
Headquarters66, Pioneer Road, Kakrail, Dhaka-1000[1]
Student wingJatiyo Chhatra Samaj
Youth wingJatiyo Jubo Sanghoti
Women's wingJatiyo Mohila Sanghoti
Peasants' wingJatiyo Krishok Party
Volunteer wingJatiyo Shechchhashebok Party
Cleric wingJatiyo Olama Party
Ideology
Political positionCentre-right[7]
MPs in the
Jatiya Sangsad		Parliament dissolved
Mayors in the
City Corporations
0 / 1
Councillors in the
City Corporations		Post dissolved
Chairmen in the
District Councils		Post dissolved
Chairmen in the
Subdistrict Councils		Post dissolved
Chairmen in the
Union Councils		Post dissolved
Election symbol
Plough
Party flag
Website
www.jatiyoparty.org.bd/en/

History

edit
 
Founder of the party President Hussain Muhammad Ershad

The party was established by a retired army officer, Hussain Mohammad Ershad on 1 January 1986. He was the Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh Army. He had seized power through a coup d'état on 24 March 1982. He ruled the country as chief martial law administrator till December 1983. Politics was banned during the state of emergency imposed by Ershad, when Justice A. F. M. Ahsanuddin Chowdhury was appointed President of Bangladesh. The Janadal Party was formed under the leadership of A. F. M. Ahsanuddin Chowdhury, through Ershads declaration of the 19-point programme on 17 March 1983.[10]

Chowdhury announced the formation of Janadal on 27 November 1983. Chowdhury was the convenor and MA Matin as general secretary. When Ershad became president, Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury was named chairman and Riazuddin Ahmed (also known as Bhola Mia, in his area) the general secretary. Ershad formed a second political party, Jatiya Front, under the Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician Shah Azizur Rahman, with members of Janadal and Muslim League, the Ganatantri Dal, United Peoples Party. Moudud Ahmed, and Anwar Hossain Manju joined Jatiya Front. The front was dissolved in six months and a new political party called Jatiya Party was formed on 1 January 1986 with Ershad as its chairman.[10]

On 7 May 1986 elections, the Jatiya Party won 153 seats in the national elections. The election was viewed as neither neutral nor fair. On 15 October 1986, Ershad was elected President of Bangladesh. Protests for democracy gained momentum in 1987. Consequently, Ershad dissolved the Jatiya Sangsad on 6 December 1987. In the elections for the fourth Jatiya Sangsad held on 3 March 1988, the Jatiya Party secured 251 seats, while other major political parties, including the BNP and the Awami League, boycotted the election. Ershad resigned in December 1990 in the face of rising protest and international pressure.[10]

Ershad handed power over to Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed, on 6 December 1991. Ershad was arrested, and his deputy, Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury became the acting chairman. On 27 February 1991 national election, the Jatiya Party won the third largest number of seats, 35 seats in the parliament. Jatiya Party won 32 seats in the parliamentary elections held on 12 June 1996 under the caretaker government (CTG). Jatiya Party joined the Bangladesh Awami League led cabinet. Anwar Hossain Manju, the secretary general of Jatiya, was included in the cabinet of Sheikh Hasina as Minister of Communication. Jatiya party splintered in three groups by 2000, this fraction was led by General Ershad, another led by Anwar Hossain Manju and Bangladesh Jatiya Party led by Naziur Rahman Manzur. In the 2001 parliamentary election the fraction led by Ershad won 14 seats, while the fraction led by Anwar Hossain won one seat.[10] 2014 Election was a controversial election for Jatiya Party where Ershad's spokesperson Bobby Hajjaj publicly declared that Jatiya Party would not participate in the election. After the 2014 election, Ershad became the special envoy of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the Bangladesh Awami League led government. Jatiya Party became the opposition party and Rowshan Ershad, Ershad's wife, became the leader of the opposition.[11] Despite being in the opposition party some leaders of Jatiya Party are also in the government cabinet.[12] In January 2016, Ershad's brother, GM Quader, was made vice chairman of the party.[13] In April 2016 Ershad appointed Rowshan as the vice-chairman of the party.[14] In March 2017, Ershad indicated he might form a new political alliance with 14 other parties.[15][16] For the next general election however, the Jatiya Party under HM Ershad formed a 58 party grand alliance of its own. Of the 58 parties, only Jatiya Party and Bangladesh Islamic Front have registration with the election commission as of 2017.[17]

On 31 October 2024, A group of protesters under the banner of "Anti-Fascism Student, Worker, and People's Movement" vandalised and burned down the central office of Jatiya Party in Bijoynagar, Dhaka.[18][19]

Criticisms

edit

In light of the 12th General Elections, the party is being subject to staunch criticisms by Saquib Rahman, Editor of Progress Magazine and Senior Lecturer of Law at North South University.[20][21][22]

Notable Central Committee Member

edit
No Member Name Designation of Committee
01 Saquib Rahman[23] International Affairs Secretary (disassociated)

Election results

edit

Presidential elections

edit
Election Party candidate Votes % Result
1985 (referendum) Hussain Muhammad Ershad 32,661,233 94.5% Elected  Y
1986 21,795,337 84.1% Elected  Y

Jatiya Sangsad elections

edit
Election Party leader Votes % Seats +/– Position Government
1986 Hussain Muhammad Ershad 12,079,259 42.34%
153 / 300
 New   1st Government
1988 17,680,133 68.44%
251 / 300
   98   1st Government
1991 4,063,537 11.92%
35 / 300
   216   4th Opposition
Feb 1996 Boycotted
0 / 300
   35 — Extra-parliamentary
Jun 1996 6,954,981 16.40%
32 / 300
   32   3rd Coalition Government
2001[a] 4,038,453 7.25%
14 / 300
   18   3rd Opposition
2008 4,926,360 7.04%
27 / 300
   13   3rd Coalition Government
2014 Rowshan Ershad 1,199,727 7.00%
34 / 300
   7   2nd Coalition Government
2018 Hussain Muhammad Ershad 4,443,351 5.22%
26 / 300
   8   2nd Coalition Government
2024 GM Quader Information not available Information not available
11 / 300
   15   2nd Opposition
  1. ^ Ran as part of the Islami Jatiya Oikya Front.

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "politacal [sic] party new". Bangladesh Election Commission.
  2. ^ "About Jatiyo Party". Jatiyo Party. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  3. ^ StoriesAsia. "Could Bangladesh Be Heading for One-Party Rule?". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  4. ^ [2][3]
  5. ^ "Young minds becoming laboratories?". Free Press Journal. 11 February 2017.
  6. ^ "Down and out in Dhaka". Lowy Institute. 8 August 2019.
  7. ^ "Young minds becoming laboratories?". Eurasia Review. 6 December 2022.
  8. ^ Hasan, Kamrul (3 January 2019). "Jatiya Party again decides to join Awami League-led Grand Alliance government". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  9. ^ Hasan, Kamrul (4 January 2019). "Ershad: JaPa to serve as main opposition in parliament". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  10. ^ a b c d "Jatiya Party". Banglapedia.
  11. ^ "New High Court bench assigned to hear Ershad's appeal in 1991 graft case". bdnews24.com. 27 March 2017.
  12. ^ "Dangers of inter and intra party violence". Prothom Alo. 13 March 2017. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  13. ^ "Ershad makes brother GM Quader Jatiya Party co-chairman". bdnews24.com. 17 January 2016.
  14. ^ "Ershad makes Raushon senior co-chairman of Jatiya Party". bdnews24.com. 28 April 2016.
  15. ^ "Jatiya Party to float new alliance soon". The Daily Star. 8 March 2017.
  16. ^ "Will form another grand alliance: Ershad". Prothom Alo. 30 March 2017. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  17. ^ Rahman, Mizan (7 May 2017). "Ershad announces 58-party alliance". Gulf Times.
  18. ^ "Jatiyo Party HQ set on fire by 'Anti-Fascist Student-Workers'". The Business Standard. 31 October 2024. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  19. ^ "জাতীয় পার্টির কেন্দ্রীয় কার্যালয়ে ভাঙচুর, আগুন". Prothomalo (in Bengali). 31 October 2024. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  20. ^ "What changed G M Quader's mind?". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  21. ^ "More than just the 'B-team'?". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  22. ^ "Does the Jatiyo Party intend to be a real opposition?". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  23. ^ "Saquib disassociates from JP activities". The Daily Star. 11 April 2023. Archived from the original on 3 September 2023.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jatiya_Party_(Ershad)&oldid=1256993994"