Following the landslide victory of Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the recently concluded national parliament elections, its chairman Tarique Rahman is all set to take the oath as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh on Tuesday.
Along with Rahman, newly-elected MPs are also likely to take oath of office during the glittering ceremony at Jatiya Sangsad in Dhaka as Bangladesh enters a new dawn following the fall of PM Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government in 2024.
Hasina was ousted from power and forced to flee the country after a massive student-led uprising against her government. She fled to India and an interim government led by Chief Adviser Mohammad Yunus ruled the country during its transition phase.
With Hasina gone, Tarique Rahman, the son of late former PM Khaleda Zia, who lived in exile in the UK, returned to the country after 17 years ahead of the elections.
Rahman led the BNP to a landslide victory in the elections. The BNP won 209 of 299 seats, well above the comfortable majority. Bangladesh Parliament has 300 seats but elections on one seat were deferred after the death of a candidate.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to represent India at Rahman’s oath ceremony
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will represent India at the swearing-in ceremony of the new Bangladesh PM. Birla will also be accompanied by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.
Yunus had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the ceremony but the latter could not attend largely due to prior engagements. The Indian PM is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Mumbai today.
The Speaker’s participation in this important event underscores the deep and enduring friendship between the peoples of India and Bangladesh, reaffirming India’s steadfast commitment to the democratic values that bind the two nations, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
The oath-taking ceremony for the parliament members will be held at 9:30 am at Parliament Bhawan. At 4:00 pm, there will be another session for the ministerial oath.