In a major political transition, Tarique Rahman was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh on Tuesday at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad in Dhaka, marking the return of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to power after nearly 20 years.
The Daily Star reported that President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath of office to Rahman and members of his cabinet.
The ceremony followed his unanimous election earlier in the day as leader of the BNP Parliamentary Party in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad.
Parliamentary Endorsement And Oath
Rahman's elevation came at a meeting of newly elected BNP lawmakers at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban at 12:00 pm. The BNP-led alliance secured 212 seats in the 300-member parliament, giving it a commanding majority.
Earlier in the morning, 297 newly elected Members of Parliament took their oaths, administered by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin.
Speaking after the parliamentary party meeting, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir described the moment as “historic,” citing the party's return through what he called “a fair election” after “a long fascist government's repression, destruction of democracy, and making the parliament ineffective, and after much bloodshed of the people.”
“In this parliament, with a majority of seats, we have elected our young leader Mr Tarique Rahman as the leader of the parliamentary party,” Fakhrul said.
BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said the party formally wrote to the President seeking permission to form the government and confirmed Rahman's oath-taking at 4:00 pm.
The new administration replaces the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which had been in office since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.
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Cabinet Composition
According to The Daily Star, the BNP has nominated 25 ministers and 24 state ministers under Rahman's leadership. The list includes 23 elected MPs and two technocrats among the ministers.
Among the ministerial nominees are senior BNP leaders including Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Amir Khoshru Mahmud Chowdhury, Salahuddin Ahmed, Abdul Awal Mintoo, Iqbal Hasan Mahmud, and Major (retd) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed Bir Bikram. Two technocrats — Dr Khalilur Rahman and Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid — have also been named.
The 24 nominees for state minister include M Rashiduzzaman Millat, Shama Obaed Islam, Sultan Salahuddin Tuku, Barrister Kaiser Kamal, Nurul Haque Nur, Bobby Hajjaj and others, with one technocrat — Md Aminul Haq — included in the list.
Senior Leaders Left Out
Several senior BNP leaders were not included in the new council of ministers. Those left out include Standing Committee members Mirza Abbas, Abdul Moyeen Khan, Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Nazrul Islam Khan, Selima Rahman, Amanullah Aman, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy and Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.
Except for Nazrul Islam Khan and Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, most had previously held key portfolios in past BNP administrations.
Opposition And Regional Presence
The Jamaat-e-Islami, which won 68 seats, has said it will serve as a “peaceful opposition.”
Foreign dignitaries attended the swearing-in ceremony, including India's Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, and representatives from Turkey and Sri Lanka.
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