The Awami League after winning landslide victory in the 11th parliamentary polls has set to form the government for a third consecutive term.
Sheikh Hasina this time has not chosen any representatives from the Awami League allies for her new cabinet as she did previously.
This is the first time Hasina is forming a cabinet with the members of her own party.
The newly chosen ministers will take oath on Monday.
For the Jatiya Party, the second largest component of Awami League-led Grand Alliance in terms of seats they bagged, the move did not come as a surprise as their chairman HM Ershad had already announced that they will be the main opposition in the parliament.
The party which bagged 22 seats in parliament next to Awami League's 257 in the 11th parliamentary polls was in the main opposition with MPs in the cabinet in the previous government which earned them criticism for being a ‘domesticated opposition party.’
But, for the other political allies who were given spots in the previous two governments it was a new experience.
Leaders from like-minded parties got spot in the 1996 government, the first Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina.
In the 1996 cabinet,Jatiya Party’s Anwar Hossain Manju and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal’s ASM Abdur Rab were made ministers. In the 2008 government, the Awami League chief Hasina gave space to Jatiya Party leader GM Quader, Anisul Islam Mahmud, Mujibul Haque Chunnu. JP’s Anwar Hossain Manju, Workers Party’s Rashed Khan Menon, JSD’s Hasanul Haque Inu and Samyabadi Dal's Dilip Barua as ministers.
In 2014 Awami –League led government Hasanul Haque Inu, Rashed Khan Menon, Anwar Hossain Manju, Anisul Islam Mahmud, Mujibul Haque Chunnu, Mashiur Rahman Ranga were awarded minister and state minister posts.
The outgoing ministers from the alliance parties are now replaced by the Awami League leaders.
Information minister Inu has been now replaced by Awami League’s Publicity Secretary Hasan Mahmud who was the environment and forest minister in 2009.
Awami League leader Nuruzzaman Ahmed had been the state minister for social welfare, and now has been promoted to the position of minister, taking over from Rashed Khan Menon.
Water Resource Minister Anwar Hossain Manju is being replaced by Awami League leader Shahab Uddin.
Contacted, Anwar Hossain Manju said that forming the cabinet is not his authority. “I am not the Prime Minister. I have nothing to say.”
Rashed Khan Menon said that they were not aware of dropping of names of alliance leaders from the ministers’ list this time.
“Nobody told us that names from the alliance or like-minded parties will be dropped,” he told the Dhaka Tribune last night.
