Several senior leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) were left out of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s new Cabinet, announced Tuesday as the party returned to power after 20 years.
Tarique Rahman was sworn in as PM at 4pm. at the South Plaza of the Parliament Building, alongside 25 ministers and 24 state ministers. President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath of office.
Notable exclusions include standing committee members Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, Nazrul Islam Khan, and Selima Rahman. Senior leader Aman Ullah Aman and Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi were also left out.
Except for Nazrul Islam Khan and Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, the excluded leaders had previously served in key ministries during past BNP governments, making their absence a major surprise in the new Cabinet.
Following the February 12 election, the Election Commission published the official gazette on Friday, declaring 297 candidates elected as Members of Parliament. According to unofficial results of the 13th National Parliamentary Election, the BNP won 209 of the 297 contested seats in the 300-seat parliament, securing a two-decade return to government. Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami won 68 seats, the Jatiya Nagorik Party (NCP) six, and independent candidates seven.
In Bangladesh’s 300-seat parliament, a party needs at least 151 seats, or 50.33%, to form a government. With 209 seats, representing 69.66% of contested seats, the BNP will govern with a commanding majority.
