Neutrality questioned as BNP leaders appointed as administrators in six cities

The appointment of six prominent Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leaders as administrators of major city corporations, including Dhaka North and Dhaka South, just one week after the BNP came to power, stands as a glaring and unacceptable display of nepotism that seriously undermines institutional neutrality, public confidence, and the integrity of governance.

According to a notification issued by the Local Government Division (City Corporation-1 branch) under the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives on February 22-23, 2026, the new administrators are all active BNP figures. For the Dhaka South City Corporation, the position has gone to Md. Abdus Salam, a veteran BNP leader who previously served as deputy mayor of the undivided Dhaka City Corporation, is currently the president of Dhaka South Metropolitan BNP, and sits on the party’s chairperson advisory council; he also coordinated Tarique Rahman’s election efforts in Dhaka-17 for the 13th national parliament.

Dhaka North City Corporation has been assigned to Md. Shafiqul Islam Khan, a former acting general secretary of Jubo Dal and the BNP candidate in Dhaka-15 in the recent national election. In Khulna City Corporation, the role has gone to Nazrul Islam Monju, BNP’s central organising secretary and a long-time Khulna city BNP president and general secretary who formerly represented Khulna-2 in parliament.

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Gazipur City Corporation’s new administrator is Shawkat Hossain Sarkar, president of Gazipur Metropolitan BNP, whose family has held union parishad chairmanships across generations. Narayanganj City Corporation’s post has been given to Sakhawat Hossain Khan, senior joint general secretary of Narayanganj Metropolitan BNP, a former 2016 mayoral candidate, and ex-president of the district bar association. Sylhet City Corporation is now led by Abdul Kaiyum Chowdhury, president of Sylhet District BNP, who held central positions in Chhatra Dal and Jubo Dal and served as political secretary to a former finance minister.

Senior journalist and political observer Probir Kumar Sarker stated that these partisan appointments replace earlier administrators—often bureaucrats or interim-period appointees—and follow closely on Local Government Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir’s public commitment to hold local government elections “as soon as possible.” Yet placing ruling-party loyalists in charge of these critical urban bodies so close to anticipated polls raises grave concerns about impartial administration, fair resource distribution, potential voter influence, and the risk of using official machinery to benefit the incumbent party.

He said that this pattern is a shameful perpetuation of the political patronage and favouritism long criticised in Bangladesh’s governance. City corporations handle vital public services such as waste management, infrastructure development, public health, and urban planning, directly impacting millions of residents. Entrusting these responsibilities to party insiders ahead of elections blurs the line between party and state, invites biased decisions, and conveys that political loyalty outweighs merit, expertise, or the public good.

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The entrenched culture of nepotism—where party cadres are routinely rewarded with powerful administrative roles irrespective of qualifications or impartiality—deserves strong condemnation. It fosters corruption, discourages capable non-partisan talent, alienates opposition communities, and weakens democratic institutions by converting supposedly neutral bodies into instruments of ruling-party advantage. Genuine reform requires appointments rooted in competence, transparency, and independence rather than partisan allegiance.

As the country moves toward elected local governments, the authorities should immediately reconsider this partisan approach, revert to neutral or bureaucratic interim administrators where appropriate, and guarantee that upcoming city corporation elections proceed freely, fairly, and without the shadow of pre-poll administrative manipulation. Failure to do so will only deepen public cynicism and sustain the cycle of favouritism that has long damaged Bangladesh’s political culture and eroded faith in the system.