BNP leaders appointed as new administrators in six cities

The government has appointed six prominent BNP leaders as administrators in six city corporations, including both Dhaka South and Dhaka North, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Local Government on Sunday, 22 February.

The official notification states that the newly appointed administrators will serve in their roles until the city corporations are formally constituted or until further orders are issued. Several of the appointed leaders had contested the last parliamentary elections and were either defeated or denied party nominations.

Appointed Administrators

Md. Abdus Salam has been entrusted with administering Dhaka South City Corporation. A former convenor of Dhaka Metropolitan South BNP, he previously acted as the chief election agent for BNP chairman Tarique Rahman.

Dhaka North will be administered by Md. Shafiqul Islam Khan, who contested the Dhaka-15 constituency in the previous parliamentary polls but was defeated by Jamaat-e-Islami’s Amir Shafiqul Rahman.

Khulna City Corporation’s administration has been assigned to BNP Central Organising Secretary Nazrul Islam Manju, a former MP for Khulna-2, who also lost in the latest parliamentary elections.

In Sylhet, Abdul Kaiyum Chowdhury, the district BNP president, will serve as administrator. Although he sought nomination for Sylhet-3, he was instead appointed as election coordinator for the district’s six parliamentary constituencies.

Narayanganj City Corporation’s administrator is Md. Sakawat Hossain Khan, the convener of Narayanganj Metropolitan BNP. He previously contested the 2016 mayoral election with the party symbol of “paddy sheaf” but was unsuccessful and was denied nomination in the recent parliamentary elections.

Gazipur’s administration will be overseen by Shawkat Hossain, president of Gazipur Metropolitan BNP, who had sought nomination for the Gazipur-2 constituency in the last parliamentary elections.

Following the interim government’s assumption of office on 8 August 2024, all mayors of twelve city corporations were removed on 19 August, with administrators appointed in their place. In the wake of the 13th national parliamentary elections, discussions have now begun regarding upcoming local government elections.