Tarique Rahman To Be Sworn In As Bangladesh PM On Tuesday

Tarique Rahman is set to take oath as Bangladesh’s new Prime Minister on Tuesday after steering his party to a decisive victory in the pivotal general elections.

In a departure from long-standing convention, the swearing-in ceremony of the 60-year-old Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairman will be held at the South Plaza of the Parliament Complex rather than at Bangabhaban. President Mohammed Shahabuddin will administer the oath to the new cabinet members at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad on Tuesday afternoon, the state-run BSS news agency reported on Monday.

"The Parliament Secretariat is set to hold the oath-taking ceremony of the new cabinet members at 4:00 pm tomorrow. Earlier, the Parliament Members (MPs) will be sworn in at 10:00 am at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad Complex,” Secretary of the Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat Kaniz Maula told BSS earlier.

The BNP has convened a parliamentary party meeting at the Parliament Building at 11:30 am to elect its parliamentary party leader.

"As the leader of the majority party, our party chairman, Tarique Rahman, will be the Prime Minister," said Salah Uddin Ahmed, a member of the BNP standing committee.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will represent India at Rahman’s swearing-in ceremony. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Lok Sabha Secretary-General Utpal Kumar Singh are also expected to accompany Birla, according to people familiar with the matter.

According to the Election Commission, the BNP secured 209 of the 297 seats, while the right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami won 68 seats.

Following his party’s victory, Rahman visited the homes of political rivals, including Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman and National Citizen Party convener Nahid Islam, where he exchanged greetings and held cordial discussions.

Rahman will assume the premiership for the first time, replacing interim government chief Muhammad Yunus, during whose tenure Dhaka’s relations with New Delhi saw a marked downturn.

Bangladesh held its 13th parliamentary election on February 12 after a prolonged period of political vacuum, instability and fragile security conditions, including widespread attacks on minorities after student-led protests ended the 15-year rule of Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.

Hasina’s Awami League was barred from contesting the polls, which recorded a voter turnout of 59.44 per cent.

Four candidates from minority communities — including two Hindus — all from the BNP, won seats in the elections.

Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, a member of the BNP’s highest policy-making standing committee, and Nitai Roy Chowdhury, one of the party’s vice-presidents, were elected.

The third minority MP-elect is Saching Pru, a senior BNP leader and a follower of the Buddhist faith, while the fourth, Dipen Dewan, belongs to the Buddhist-majority Chakma ethnic minority community.

Hindus make up around eight per cent of the population in the Muslim-majority nation of 170 million people.

Maldives President Mohammed Muizzoo, Turkish Undersecretary Beris Ekinci and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr Nalinda Jayatissa are among the foreign dignitaries expected to attend Rahman’s oath ceremony.

(with inputs from PTI)