If the BNP continues its move to include the JP in the coalition, Jamaat will think about "alternatives", Jamaat leaders hinted the PM at the meeting at her office, sources said.

The PM did not make any comment, a Jamaat leader told The Daily Star after the meeting, wishing anonymity.

A top delegation of Jamaat led by its Ameer and Industries Minister Motiur Rahman Nizami talked with the PM for about two hours.

No BNP leaders, even its secretary general, were present at the "crucial" meeting, which many BNP insiders considered "very unusual".

The Jamaat delegation included party Secretary General and Social Welfare Minister Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid, Abdus Sobhan MP, Delwar Hossain Saidee MP, Mohammad Qamaruzzaman, Abdul Quader Molla, ATM Azharul Islam and Barrister Abdur Razzaque.

Describing JP Chairman HM Ershad as "unpredictable", the Jamaat secretary general told reporters, "We have discussed the Ershad issue with the PM. Now, our Majlish-e-Shura will finalise the decision on our stand over Ershad's inclusion and then we will meet the PM again to convey the decision.

"The four-party alliance will remain united and Jamaat will contest the upcoming elections under the alliance," he added.

Jamaat sources said the PM told the Jamaat delegation that she will look into the matter. She also requested the Jamaat leaders to consider the BNP's move to include the JP in the alliance to ensure victory in the next election.

Asked if Jamaat shifted from its position after the meeting with the PM, Mujahid said, "We remain on our previous stand."

The Jamaat leaders told the PM that the inclusion of JP is not necessary to win the elections. "We are confident that our four-party alliance will win the next election," he told the reporters.

On the issue of sharing seats for the next election, he said they did not discuss the matter at the meeting. He said Jamaat is not raising the Ershad issue as a point for bargaining.

Muhammad Qamaruzzaman told The Daily Star, "The PM said Jatiya Party Ershad's inclusion is necessary to strengthen the coalition, but we told her that JP is not at all inevitable for winning the election."

Jamaat's highest decision-making body Majlish-e-Shura will decide on the Ershad issue soon, he said. "We will also discuss the matter at the party executive committee meeting prior to the Shura decision," he added.