There was no doubt that BNP Chairman Tariq Rahman would be the Prime Minister in a BNP-led government. On Tuesday morning, the BNP Parliamentary Party unanimously elected him as the leader of Parliament. It is customary for the President to invite the leader of the majority party to form the government.
BNP had said that the new cabinet would include a mix of young and senior members and its size would not be very large. It is true that youth have gained prominence in the cabinet. However, questions remain about how prepared those who have been given the responsibility of various ministries are or how much they have prepared themselves for these roles.
There is no doubt that the regional balance in the selection of cabinet members has been seriously disturbed. According to Prothom Alo’s report, no minister or minister of state has been appointed from 25 districts. Investigation has revealed that in the districts where BNP’s performance was poor, they have also been deprived of ministerial posts. People from those areas may feel insulted.
The 25 districts mentioned include poverty-stricken Kurigram, Gaibandha, Rangpur, and Nilphamari, as well as Meherpur, Satkhira and Chuadanga. Even though BNP won all the seats in Madaripur, Shariatpur and Gopalganj, no minister or minister of state was taken from there either. Political analysts believe that the North-West and South-West regions, seen as Jamaat-dominated areas, were punished accordingly. But what have the representatives of the last three districts done wrong? Only one Minister of State has been taken from Greater Faridpur.