Published : 14 Aug 2026, 02:11 AM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:32 AM
Power, Portfolios, and Presidential Pomp
Presidency triggers opening: Fakhrul’s move to Bangabhaban forces key vacancies in party leadership and local government
Performance drives reshuffle: A six-month review puts ministers under scrutiny, with potential drops and portfolio shifts
Promotions and new faces: State ministers eye full cabinet rank as ally leaders feature in wider government speculation
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is on the verge of leaving the centre of Bangladesh’s ruling party for the country’s highest constitutional office -- and his departure could trigger changes well beyond the walls of Bangabhaban.
The BNP secretary general and Standing Committee member has resigned from both posts after being nominated as the party’s presidential candidate.
With the ruling party commanding an overwhelming parliamentary majority, his election as Bangladesh’s 23rd president is all but certain.
His elevation will create vacancies in government and in parliament, while the BNP will also have to decide who takes over its most important organisational post.
At the same time, the government is weighing changes to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s six-month-old cabinet.
Some ministers or state ministers could leave, portfolios could be redistributed and new faces could enter government.
bdnews24.com spoke to six members of the BNP Standing Committee and cabinet. All described a reshuffle as a normal possibility. Some, however, believe the immediate task may simply be to fill the position vacated by Fakhrul.
Who Fills the Vacancies?
Fakhrul has served as the BNP’s acting and elected secretary general for nearly 15 years.
After the late BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia was jailed in 2018, he became the party’s principal political face in Bangladesh. While Tarique led the party from London, Fakhrul steered its movement against the Awami League government at home.
His resignation has therefore immediately raised the question of who will succeed him.
Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, a veteran of the BNP’s anti-government movement, is the name most frequently mentioned.
Two Standing Committee members told bdnews24.com that the party may operate with an acting secretary general until its next council, when a permanent secretary general would be chosen.
Fakhrul is currently the local government minister. Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed, who currently holds the home ministry, is among those being discussed as a possible replacement.
That would leave the home ministry open.
Within the BNP, there is speculation that Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anee, currently the water resources minister, could take over. Another possibility is former State Minister Lutfozzaman Babar, who spent years in prison after receiving a death sentence during the Awami League era.
Power Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood Tuku said cabinet changes were routine government business.
“Reshuffling ministries is a normal government process. There is no scope for me to comment on it.”
Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni said that whoever becomes president would have to resign from any previous position, creating the need for a replacement.
“Whoever comes in as president, if they previously held another position, will have to resign. Someone new will then be given that responsibility.”
Is a Wider Reshuffle Coming?
The BNP returned to power after nearly two decades following the Feb 12 parliamentary election, after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government in the 2024 July Uprising and 18 months of an interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus.
Tarique formed his government on Feb 17. It will complete six months on Aug 17 -- a milestone that has intensified speculation over a cabinet review.
Two ministers told bdnews24.com that at least two ministers or state ministers could be dropped and new faces brought in.
A Prime Minister’s Office advisor, however, said there was no indication that Tarique intended to remove anyone simply because six months had passed. But changes based on the performance of individual ministries appeared possible.
There has been no cabinet reshuffle since Tarique formed his government, although Dipen Dewan resigned from his position overseeing Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs. State Minister Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin has since been handling the ministry.
The government currently comprises 24 ministers, 23 state ministers and 10 advisors with ministerial or state-ministerial status.
Some ministers could be moved to different portfolios, while others could leave the cabinet altogether.
Two days earlier, Information Advisor Zahed Ur Rahman told a briefing at the Secretariat that a committee comprising advisors and special assistants at the PMO was closely reviewing the government’s performance.
The review covers its achievements, activities and shortcomings during its first 180 days. Once it is complete, Tarique will present the government’s assessment and future plans to the nation.
One minister told bdnews24.com that work in at least seven or eight ministries had slowed and that changes could follow.
Some ministers holding two or three portfolios could have their responsibilities reduced, creating room for new appointments.
The minister said Tarique had already summoned several ministers to express his dissatisfaction and had given some of them deadlines to meet targets. The PMO is also monitoring the performance of several other ministries, the minister said.
A BNP Standing Committee member said some ministers had briefed the committee on progress in their respective ministries.
“Considering all these factors, changes in the ministries are a realistic possibility,” the leader said.
A PMO official said a review of ministers’ performance was already under way and Tarique was speaking individually with them.
“A reshuffle could come after six months, but it could also come after a year,” the official said.
Several ministers said their recent meetings with the prime minister had focused on the progress of their ministries rather than an imminent reshuffle.
There is also speculation that some of the 23 state ministers could be promoted to full ministerial rank.
State Minister for Planning Zonayed Saki declined to comment on the speculation.
“There is a lot being discussed in the media about who will be promoted, who will come and who will go. I cannot say anything about that.”
Could Allies Get a Place?
Talk of new faces has also extended to parties that joined the BNP in its simultaneous movement against the Awami League.
Gono Odhikar Parishad’s Nurul Haque Nur and Ganosamhati Andolon’s Saki are already in government. Bobby Hajjaj, meanwhile, joined the BNP from the Nationalist Democratic Movement and became a state minister.
Now there is speculation that Nagorik Oikko President Mahmudur Rahman Manna and Revolutionary Workers Party General Secretary Saiful Haque could also be brought into government.
Both contested in the recent election and lost.
But neither has received any indication that they will be given a government role.
Manna said the focus at present was firmly on the presidency rather than a cabinet reshuffle.
“The discussion right now is about who will become president. I have not received any information about an immediate cabinet reshuffle. As for me, I am only hearing about it in the media.”
Saiful Haque was more guarded.
“I do not want to comment on rumours.”
