Presidential polls: BNP set to pick Fakhrul

The ruling BNP is set to announce its presidential candidate today, with Secretary General and incumbent Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir emerging as the frontrunner, party sources said.
The ruling party is also preparing to reshuffle the cabinet, bringing in new and dedicated faces to inject dynamism into the administration and facilitate implementation of its electoral manifesto based on the 31-point proposal, according to party insiders.
A top BNP leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Fakhrul had been finalised as the party’s presidential candidate and that this would become clear after the nomination is submitted by 4pm today.
Acting President Hafiz Uddin Ahmad and BNP Standing Committee member Nazrul Islam Khan have been kept as next choices for the post, the BNP sources said, adding that the cabinet reshuffle was also being planned to improve administrative efficiency.
BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has called a meeting of the party’s National Standing Committee today to finalise its candidate for the upcoming presidential election.
The meeting is scheduled to be held in the morning, at the Tarique Rahman’s Gulshan political office, according to the party source.
The country is scheduled to elect its 23rd president through a vote in the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) chamber on 20 August, in line with constitutional requirements.
The election follows the resignation of Mohammed Shahabuddin as president on 24 July, nearly two years before the end of his five-year term in 2028. He stepped down citing health reasons.
Polling will be held from 2pm to 5pm under the direct supervision of Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin, who will summon MPs to the chamber. 
The voting will be broadcast live, and the newly elected president is expected to take the oath shortly after the results are announced.
The BNP’s National Standing Committee, the party’s highest policymaking body, recently vested all authority in party Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to decide on the presidential candidate.
Two nomination forms have been collected on behalf of the BNP, fuelling speculation over who will be picked. Fakhrul, Hafiz, Nazrul and several others were reportedly in the race.
However, the source said Fakhrul had signed the statement of consent, a mandatory requirement for a presidential nomination paper, last Saturday.
Fakhrul contested the 13th parliamentary election from Thakurgaon-1 and won decisively with 238,836 votes.
With a clear parliamentary majority, the BNP can constitutionally elect the president through a vote by MPs.
An Election Commissioner, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was no bar to submitting multiple nomination papers for the presidential election. 
If even one nomination paper is found valid, the person named in it is considered a valid candidate, he said.
Following Shahabuddin’s resignation on 24 July, Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad has been discharging the duties of acting President.
Meanwhile, Dr Shamaruh Mirza, a scientist and human rights activist based in Australia and Fakhrul’s elder daughter, is expected to contest the by-election in Thakurgaon-1 once the seat becomes vacant after her father’s swearing-in as president, according to two party sources, including a local leader who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The government is also likely to reshuffle the cabinet, with BNP Standing Committee Member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, who represents Dhaka-3, possibly being appointed LGRD minister.
Fresh and dedicated faces, including Rizvi, Habibunnabi Khan Sohel and other potential leaders, may also be brought into the cabinet, according to government and party sources.
After assuming office on 17 February this year, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman set a 180-day action plan for implementing the BNP’s election manifesto. The plan is due to end on 16 August.
The roadmap comprises 25 initiatives under three broad pillars: robust infrastructure, investment facilitation and investment development. 
Thirteen initiatives focus on infrastructure and investment enablers, seven on investor support and service quality, and five on targeted investment and sector-based growth.
The government has since been evaluating the performance of ministers, state ministers and other senior officials, a party source said.
Several ministries, including education, health, home and local government, may see changes based on the evaluation, with new faces expected to be appointed, the source added.
Changes are also expected in the BNP’s central organisational structure, including the posts of secretary general and senior joint secretary general, to strengthen the party’s organisational activities nationwide.
Incumbent Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed may be appointed the next BNP secretary general, while Tarique Rahman is looking for a loyal, dedicated, trustworthy and relatively young leader to take charge of the party in Fakhrul’s absence, the source said.
A senior BNP leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the developments had generated expectations among people for a constructive, result-oriented change in both the government and the leadership of the ruling party.