BNP figures installed as administrators of six city corporations

Several of the appointees contested in the parliamentary election but lost, while others sought party nomination yet failed to secure it

The government has appointed six BNP figures as administrators to oversee half a dozen city corporations, including the two in Dhaka.

Several of these appointees were defeated in the Feb 12 parliamentary elections, while others failed to secure party tickets for their constituencies.

A notification from the local government ministry on Sunday said they would serve as administrators until the corporations are reconstituted or further orders are issued.

Mohammad Abdus Salam, a member of the BNP Chairperson’s Advisory Council, has been appointed administrator of Dhaka South City Corporation.

He previously served as convenor of Dhaka South BNP and acted as chief election agent for Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in the recent national polls.

Mohammad Shafiqul Islam Khan has been given charge of Dhaka North City Corporation.

He ran in the Dhaka-15 constituency as a BNP candidate in the last parliamentary election but lost to Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman.

BNP Central Organising Secretary Nazrul Islam Monju has been appointed administrator of Khulna City Corporation.

A former MP for Khulna-2, Monju suffered an electoral blow this time around against a Jamaat candidate in the same seat.

Abdul Qayyum Chowdhury, president of Sylhet district BNP, has been appointed administrator of Sylhet City Corporation. He had sought BNP nomination for the Sylhet-3 seat but was instead assigned as the party’s election coordinator for the district.

In Narayanganj, the city’s BNP Convenor Md Shakhawat Hossain Khan has stepped into the administrator role.

Shakhawat ran for mayor with the “sheaf of paddy” symbol in 2016 but was unsuccessful, and he recently missed out on a party nomination for the Narayanganj-5 parliamentary seat.

Gazipur City Corporation is now under the stewardship of Gazipur Metropolitan BNP President Md Showkat Hossain Sarker, who was an aspirant for the Gazipur-2 seat in the last general election.

The current administrative shift traces back to Aug 19, 2024, shortly after the interim government took office, when mayors across 12 city corporations were sacked.

With the parliamentary elections now concluded, the focus has shifted towards holding local government polls.