Jatiya Party

The Jatiya Party ( JP, but Jatiya Dal in its original form) was founded in 1983 as a vehicle for the Bangladesh leader Hussain Muhammad Ershad (b. 1930). It attracted some members of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), who were willing to work with Ershad to maintain their political influence, as well as a few from the Awami League for the same reason. It is a centrist party, as is the BNP, and the economic and social programs of the two parties have little difference.

The difference has been the BNP's dislike of the means Ershad used to gain power.

Ershad called a parliamentary election in 1986 in which the JP won a slight majority over the Awami League, thereby dispelling claims that the election was fixed. However, the Awami League withdrew from the parliament in 1988, forcing another election in which the JP won an overwhelming majority because no other significant party contested. Since the fall of Ershad in December 1990, the party has continued to contest, finishing third in the 1991 and June 1996 elections. Following the latter, Ershad led the party into a coalition with the Awami League, but the JP has now split. The faction led by Ershad has aligned with the BNP in the opposition; the other faction remains allied with the Awami League in the government.