Dr Tasnim Jara, senior joint member secretary of Jatiya Nagorik Party (NCP), has announced her decision to leave the party and contest the upcoming election as an independent candidate.

She made the announcement in a Facebook post on Saturday evening.

In her post, Tasnim Jara addressed residents of Khilgaon, Sabujbagh and Mugda, saying she was born and raised in Khilgaon and considers herself a daughter of the area.

She said her original dream was to enter parliament through a political party platform to serve her constituency and the country. However, due to the prevailing political realities, she has decided not to contest the election as a candidate of any specific party or alliance.

She said she had promised the people and the nation that she would fight for them and work to establish a new political culture, and stressed that she remains committed to that pledge regardless of circumstances. “That is why I will contest the election as an independent candidate from Dhaka-9,” she wrote.

Tasnim Jara also acknowledged the challenges of running without party backing, noting that party candidates usually have local offices, organised activists and access to government and administrative channels for security and other concerns. “Since I am not with any party, I will not have any of these. My only strength is you,” she said, appealing to voters to support her based on her integrity, dedication and determination to practise a new kind of politics.

Highlighting two key issues, she said that under legal requirements, an independent candidate must submit signatures of support from 4,693 registered voters of the Dhaka-9 constituency on a prescribed form. She said the signature collection would begin on Sunday, acknowledging that gathering such a large number of signatures in a single day would be nearly impossible without spontaneous public support.

She called on supporters willing to provide space or volunteer assistance to join a designated group, where locations and further details would be shared.