The National Citizen Party (NCP), a youth-led political party, has finalized its top 10 leadership positions, collectively referred to as the "Super Ten." The party’s official formation will be announced at a rally this afternoon on Manik Mia Avenue, in front of the National Parliament Building in Dhaka.
Key Leadership Appointments
Md Nahid Islam has been named the convener of the party, while Akhter Hossen will serve as the member secretary, effectively making him Nahid’s second-in-command. Nahid stepped down from his role in the interim government’s advisory council on Tuesday to take on this new position. Meanwhile, Akhter, previously the member secretary of the Jatiya Nagorik Committee, brings experience from the civic platform that emerged from the July uprising.
The senior joint convener roles have been assigned to Samanta Sharmin and Ariful Islam Adib, while Tasnim Zara and Nahida Sarwar (Niva) will hold the senior joint member secretary positions.
Additionally, Nasiruddin Patwari has been appointed as the chief coordinator, with Abdul Hannan Masud serving as the joint coordinator. Hasnat Abdullah will oversee operations as chief organiser (Southern Region), while Sarjis Alam has been tasked with the same role for the Northern Region.
Nahid Islam’s Background
Before leading the NCP, Nahid Islam played a crucial role in the student movement that led to the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government. A master's student in sociology at Dhaka University, he was previously a student representative in the interim government but resigned last week to focus on the new party.
Nahid's political journey began with the 2018 quota-reform protests, where he faced threats from university authorities. In 2019, he contested the DUCSU elections as a cultural secretary candidate from the Nurul-Rashed-Faruk panel under the banner of Bangladesh Sadharon Chhatra Odhikar Songrokkhon Parishad but was unsuccessful and later distanced himself from the platform.
On October 3, 2023, he became the member secretary of Ganotantrik Chhatra Shakti, a breakaway faction of Chhatra Odhikar Parishad, led by Nurul Haque Nur. However, the group was dissolved in September 2024, shortly after the formation of the Nagorik Committee.
During the July protests, Nahid was picked up and tortured by law enforcers, losing consciousness in custody. He was briefly released before being detained again alongside five fellow protesters at the detective bureau headquarters.
Akhter Hossen’s Journey
Akhter Hossen, the newly appointed member secretary of NCP, was formerly the social service secretary of DUCSU and a key figure in Students Against Discrimination, the movement that contributed to Sheikh Hasina’s removal.
A law graduate from Dhaka University, Akhter first gained attention when he staged a solo hunger strike to protest a question leak in the DU admission test. Later, in 2019, he contested the DUCSU elections under the Bangladesh Sadharon Chhatra Odhikar Songrokkhon Parishad panel and won the position of social service secretary.
He subsequently joined Chhatra Odhikar Parishad, the student wing of Nurul Haq Nur’s Gono Odhikar Parishad, and eventually became president of its DU unit. In 2023, Akhter broke away and formed the Ganotantrik Chhatra Shakti, where he served as the convener.
On July 17, 2024, as the quota protest intensified, Akhter was arrested near the Raju Memorial Sculpture around 3:00 PM.
With the formation of the NCP and the "Super Ten" leadership team in place, this new political force is set to make its mark in Bangladesh’s political landscape.
