Manna, Gayeshwar in Focus as PM Tarique Rahman weighs cabinet changes
Mahmudur Rahman Manna and Gayeshwar Chandra Roy. Photo: Collected.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had previously hinted at a cabinet reshuffle and expansion. And, it is being translated into action.
According to multiple official sources, Nagorik Oikya President Mahmudur Rahman Manna and BNP Standing Committee member MP Gayeshwar Chandra Roy are being incorporated to the cabinet this time.
Due to a lack of seat-sharing agreements before the 13th Jatiya Sangsad elections, Nagorik Oikya's ties with the BNP were severed in January. Later, Manna and 12 other candidates contested separately under their own symbol, "Kettle."
Meanwhile, sources have indicated that in the existing cabinet, MP Saching Prue Jerry, elected from Bandarban, is being given the responsibility of Minister for Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs, and MP Mohammad Shameem Kaiser Lincoln from Gaibandha-4 constituency is being appointed as State Minister for Religious Affairs. A gazette notification regarding this could be issued at any time.
With the inclusion of new members, there may also be reshuffles in key ministries. In particular, since the newly elected President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was recently the BNP Secretary General, his portfolio of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development, and Cooperatives will need to be redistributed. Additionally, the Prime Minister is considering changes in the responsibilities of ministers and state ministers in several other ministries.
On February 12, the BNP returned to power after nearly two decades with a landslide victory in the 13th parliamentary elections.
A new government was formed on February 17 under Tarique Rahman's leadership. Currently, the Prime Minister's cabinet includes 23 ministers, 23 state ministers, and 10 advisers with the status of ministers and state ministers.
No reshuffle has taken place in Tarique Rahman's cabinet so far, but Minister for Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Dipen Dewan has resigned. The charge of that ministry is currently being handled by State Minister Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin.
