The Bangladesh Tarikat Federation (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ তরিকত ফেডারেশন; abbreviated as BTF) is a Sufi political party in Bangladesh founded by Syed Najibul Bashar of the Maizbhandaria tariqah and some Pir-Mashaikh of Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh Tarikat Federation was founded in 2005 following Syed Najibul Bashar's resignation from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, as the party had allied with the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh which Bashar accuses of supporting terrorists.[2]
During the 2008 Bangladeshi general elections, the federation had 45 candidates across the country but was unable to gain any seats.[3]
Following the 2014 Bangladeshi general elections however, the federation managed to gain two parliamentary seats; with Bashar in Chittagong-2 and the party's erstwhile secretary-general M. A. Awal in Lakshmipur-1.[4][5][6][7][8] In 2017, Awal attempted to form a coalition of Islamic parties which would include the Islami Oikya Jote along with the Khilafat Andolan, Faraizi Andolan and the Imam-Ulama Parishad. However, this attempt was opposed by Bashar, the chairman of the federation.[9] On 17 April 2018, Bashar replaced Awal with Syed Rezaul Haq Chandpuri as secretary-general.[10]
The party sought 30 seats to contest the 2018 Bangladeshi general election under the Grand Alliance. The party managed to only keep the Chittagong-2 constituency, which is also the headquarters of the Maizbhandaria order.[11]
In reaction to the July 2016 Dhaka attack, Bashar claimed that the Qawmi Madrasah system was to blame for the emergence of Terrorism in Bangladesh.[12]