New Cabinet Formation: Loyalists, fresh faces likely to get priority
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina may bank on her party’s core ranks while forming the new cabinet tomorrow evening.
Several younger leaders are likely to get the chance to be ministers as the PM wants to bring the next generation of leaders to the fore, according to insiders.
Although Hasina, the Awami League president, has not discussed the matter with her party colleagues, many leaders think several members of the current cabinet against whom there were allegations of corruption will be replaced by individuals with cleaner image.
“While picking the cabinet members, she may stick to the strategy which was followed while giving MP nominations,” said a top leader.
While picking nominees for parliament, the AL dropped 71 incumbent MPs and picked 37 members from the AL Central Working Committee, which has 81 members.
“The new cabinet will have new faces along with experienced ones. But above all, those with clean image will take priority.”
Current ministers Monnujan Sufian, KM Khalid, and Zakir Hossen did not get the AL ticket to run for parliament.
“The new cabinet will have new faces along with experienced ones. But above all, those with a clean image will take priority,” an AL central committee member told The Daily Star.
Besides, the leaders who have shown steadfast loyalty to the party over the years will be considered, added the leader.
After three technocrat ministers resigned in November, the current cabinet has 45 members, including Hasina and 23 ministers, 18 state ministers and three deputy ministers. AL sources say, the chances of including technocrats in the next cabinet are slim.
Some current ministers may have to serve different ministries.
An AL leader who got nominated for the first time and a central committee executive member may also get to be in the new cabinet, said the party sources.
Several leaders who were inducted in the cabinet after the 2008 election, but got dropped in the cabinets formed in 2014 and 2018, may return to the cabinet, they said.
The AL won Sunday’s parliamentary polls for the fourth consecutive time. The AL nominees won 222 and independents — mostly AL leaders — won 62.
The Jatiyo Party bagged 11, and each AL ally, Bangladesh Workers Party, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal and Bangladesh Kalyan Party, won one seat.
Hasina, the longest serving prime minister, is going to be the head of government for the fourth consecutive term.
State ministers Mahbub Ali (civil aviation), Enamur Rahman (disaster management), and Shwapan Bhattacharjee (rural development) lost in the polls on Sunday.
The ministers who performed unsatisfactorily may not be in the next cabinet, said some AL leaders.
The swearing-in ceremony of the lawmakers will be held at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban today at 10:00am. Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury will administer the oath taking.
The AL Parliamentary Party (ALPP) will hold a meeting to select its leaders. The leader of the ALPP will then request the president to invite the AL to form the government.
Cabinet Secretary Mahbub Hossain yesterday said President Md Shahabuddin will administer the cabinet members’ oath-taking ceremony at the Darbar Hall of Bangabhaban at 7:00pm tomorrow.
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