A series of high-profile resignations by women leaders has exposed growing divisions within the National Citizen Party (NCP), with former leaders raising concerns over its political alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami, internal democracy and the marginalisation of women in the party.The National Citizen Party (NCP) is facing mounting internal criticism following the consecutive resignations of several senior women leaders, who have questioned the party's political direction, organisational decisions and commitment to gender equality.The departing leaders have raised serious allegations, including the party's alliance with Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, the restructuring of its central committee without a council and what they describe as the growing marginalisation of women in its leadership.The latest resignation came on Thursday (November 5), when Samanta Sharmin, one of the founding senior leaders of the NCP, announced her decision to step down from the post of joint convener.Earlier, senior joint member secretary Dr Tasnim Jara and joint convener Tajnuba Jabeen had also resigned, opposing the seat-sharing arrangement and electoral alliance with Jamaat during the 13th parliamentary election.Samanta's departure, just nine months after the election, has once again brought the party's internal disagreements and longstanding dissatisfaction over its Jamaat alliance into the spotlight.Samanta Questions Party's Political DirectionIn a lengthy social media post explaining her decision, Samanta Sharmin alleged that the NCP was losing its independent political identity due to an unclear political position and was increasingly falling within Jamaat's sphere of influence.She argued that the party was gradually playing a supportive role for Jamaat on various political issues rather than developing an independent political agenda.Samanta, who had strongly opposed an alliance with Jamaat just a year earlier, also criticised what she described as the party's compromise with conservative political forces that oppose women's rights.She said the NCP had an opportunity to establish a new political culture based on equality and inclusiveness but had failed to do so.She also questioned the committee restructuring carried out on October 23 without holding a party council. According to her, the controversial reshuffle was undemocratic, particularly as she was downgraded from senior joint convener to joint convener.The successive departures of prominent women leaders have sparked debate over whether the relatively new party is losing its political distinctiveness and failing to maintain space for women in its decision-making structure.NCP Leadership Calls Resignations a Normal Political ProcessNCP Senior Joint Member Secretary Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan described the resignations as part of the normal dynamics of politics.He said the alliance was formed as a political strategy and that disagreements among party members, including decisions to leave the organisation, were not unusual.Regarding the committee restructuring, Asif Mahmud said the changes were made to accelerate organisational activities and reactivate positions that had become ineffective.He also said the party plans to announce a new full-fledged committee through a formal council between January and March 2027.Party Denies Growing JamaatisationNCP Joint Convener Monira Sharmin rejected allegations that the party was undergoing a process of "Jamaatisation" because of its alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami.She said the two parties had maintained strategic unity on issues such as reforms and justice, but the NCP had continued to uphold its independent positions in parliament on various policies and bills.Monira also dismissed claims that the party was facing a crisis of women's leadership.She argued that numerous women leaders remained active at the grassroots level and that the departure of a few prominent figures did not necessarily indicate a wider decline in women's participation within the party.The contrasting positions of former leaders and the current leadership have left the NCP facing questions over its political identity, internal democratic practices and commitment to inclusive leadership.