Rifat, Hasib, and Student Leaders Set to Join National Citizens Party

Several top leaders of the anti-discrimination student movement, including President Rifat Rashid and Chief Coordinator Hasib Al Islam, are set to join the National Citizens Party (NCP). Sources from both the movement and the party confirmed the development late Saturday night.

An official announcement is expected this Sunday. According to insiders, Rifat Rashid will likely be appointed as the Chief Organizer of ‘National Youth Power,’ the party's youth wing.

Meanwhile, Hasib Al Islam is expected to join the Dhaka University branch of ‘National Student Power.’ Other key figures, including Office Secretary Shahadat Hossain and Islamic University convener SM Sweet, are also slated for positions within the central committee.

The shift isn’t limited to the student movement alone. A group of leaders from ‘Up Bangladesh’—a prominent organization during the July-August uprising—is also joining the NCP. This group includes convener Ali Ahsan Junaid, chief coordinator Rafe Salaman Rifat, and spokesperson Shahreen Sultana Ira.

Political analysts view this transition of student revolutionaries into mainstream party politics as a significant step in the post-uprising political polarization of Bangladesh.