Islami Oikya Jote: Expertise in alliances and breakups

As a coalition of six Islamist parties formed in December 1990, the Islami Oikya Jote hit it off moderately well in its debut Jatiya Sangsad polls in 1991. Fielding only 51 candidates with the symbol "tower", it secured one win and garnered over 2.69 lakh votes.

In the 1996 JS polls, the coalition aimed higher with 166 candidates. However, it won only one seat again and garnered over 4.61 lakh votes.

Things went bitter for the alliance ahead of the 2001 JS polls. Following ideological clashes between leaders, the alliance split into factions. One group, led by Mufti Amini, retained the symbol of the alliance and joined hands with the BNP's four-party alliance while the other group went with the Awami League.

Members of the Oikyo Jote won four seats in that election — two of them contested with the "tower" symbol while the other two with the "sheaf of paddy" symbol of the BNP.

Since then, with every national election, the split in the original alliance continued to branch out. As of now, the original alliance, comprising Khelafat Majlis, Khelafat Andolan, Nizam-e-Islam Party, Islami Shasontantra Andolan (currently Islami Andolan), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, and Faraizi Andolan, has split into six groups.

In 2008, the Mufti Amini-led Islami Oikya Jote again sided with the BNP and fought in only four seats. It got 1,08,415 votes.

Despite failing to see success, the party joined the BNP's 20-party alliance in 2012.

It boycotted the 2014 national election, following in the footsteps of the BNP and other major oppositions.

But in January 2016, the Islami Oikya Jote split again. In a bid to strengthen the party, its then chairman the late Abdul Latif Nezami left the BNP-led 20-party alliance. However, a small faction of the party stayed with the alliance.

"We have no relation with the 20-party alliance. The Islami Oikya Jote will compete in all 300 seats in the next election," Latif Nizami said at the time.

Despite the announcement, the Oikya Jote formed an alliance in the following year and sided with the ruling Awami League. However, the party was not allowed to use AL's "boat" symbol in the 2018 JS polls.

In the last national election, the Nizami-led party ran for the JS with 25 candidates and garnered some 1.13 lakh votes. It did not win any seats and all candidates lost their security deposits.

For the upcoming election, the Islami Oikya Jote, now led by Chairman Abul Hasnat Amini, has fielded candidates as a single party, without joining any coalition.

While initially, it announced that it is looking to compete in all 300 seats in the upcoming election, the party could sell nomination forms for only 114 seats. It nominated candidates in 45 seats.

Abul Hasnat, son of the late Mufti Amini, will be contesting in the polls from Brahmanbaria 2 (Sarail-Ashuganj) seat.

However, the party's Secretary General Mufti Faizullah is not running for the parliament this time.

Talking to The Business Standard, he said the Qawmi madrasa-based party is now moving on its own.

"We hope that the 12th Jatiya Sangsad polls will be free, fair, impartial and participatory. We are preparing for the election with that in mind. We are moving forward independently. Islami Oikya Jote is not currently part of any coalition," he added.