Jatiya Party (Ershad)

The Jatiya Party (Bengali: জাতীয় পার্টি, romanized: Jatiyo Party, lit. 'National Party'), JaPa or JP(E), is a political party in Bangladesh. It was founded on 1 January 1986 by then Bangladeshi president Hussain Muhammad Ershad. The party was the ruling party of the country between 1986 and 1990.

Following the 1985 Bangladeshi military rule referendum, Ershad established the party as a civilian platform to support his military presidency. Within two years, it won two parliamentary elections, though both were widely regarded as flawed. After Ershad's removal in the 1990 mass uprising, the party was unable to regain electoral dominance but joined coalition governments on several occasions with the Awami League. Following the 2014 election, it played a dual role by serving both as the parliamentary opposition and as a participant in the ruling Awami League coalition cabinet, leading to its characterization as a "domesticated opposition". In subsequent elections under Sheikh Hasina, boycotted by other major opposition parties, the Jatiya Party continued to serve as the opposition in parliament. After Hasina's fall from power, some groups called for banning the party due to its past cooperation with her government.

Over time, the party has faced repeated divisions, and the registered Jatiya Party–JaPa now operates under two rival factions: one led by GM Quader with Shamim Haider Patwary, and the other by Anisul Islam Mahmud with A.B.M. Ruhul Amin Howlader as secretary general.