Five days after the parliamentary elections in Bangladesh, Tarique Rahman, chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Bangladesh on Tuesday (February 17, 2026).

Bangladesh swearing-in: Follow LIVE updates from BNP chief Tarique Rahman’s oath-taking ceremony on February 17, 2026

The swearing-in of the new Prime Minister and his ministerial colleagues came hours after Chief Election Commissioner A.M.M Nasir Uddin administered the oath of parliament to the newly elected members of BNP in the parliament of Bangladesh – Jatiyo Sansad.

As the new Prime Minister Mr. Rahman will lead a team of twenty-five cabinet ministers and twenty-four ministers of state, who were all administered oath by President of Bangladesh Mohammed Shahabuddin.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chaudhury, Salahuddin Ahmed, Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku – prominent members of the National Standing Committee of the BNP, and Nitai Roy Choudhury, Kazi Shah Mofazzal Hossein, Abdul Awal Mintu, Rashiduzzaman Millat, Shama Obaid from the BNP executive committee were sworn in as cabinet ministers.

While most of the ministers sworn in were elected MPs in the February 12 election, the ministry will also include Mohammed Amir Ur Rashid under the ‘technocrats’ category.

BNP’s ally Gonosanghati Andolan’s Jonaid Saki, a popular face among the gen-z protesters for his radical comments, will be a state minister as well.

In a continuity from the Interim Government the current National Security Adviser Dr. Khalilur Rahman has been included among the cabinet ministers as a ‘technocrat’ as well. BNP sources have confirmed that Dr. Rahman who’s been the face of Bangladesh’s diplomacy regarding the Rohingya issue will be the next foreign minister of Bangladesh.

Also Read | BNP members sworn in as MPs; party says they will not take oath for changing existing constitution

Around 1,200 foreign and domestic guests attended the swearing-in ceremony that took place in the South Plaza of the parliament. President of the Maldives Mohamed Muizzu, Pakistan’s Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhary, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri were among the foreign dignitaries who attended the swearing-in ceremony.

The process of transfer of power from the interim government led by Chief Adviser Prof. Mohammed Yunus started earlier this morning with when Chairman of BNP Tarique Rahman led the BNP-alliance members to the parliament, where they were administered the oath of membership of the parliament by Chief Election Commissioner A.M.M. Nasir Uddin in the Oath Taking Hall of the parliament.

Before the procedure, standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed took the microphone and said that the BNP members who were present on the occasion in the parliament will not take oath for being part of the “Constitution Reform Commission”.

“None of us were elected as members of the Constitution Reform Commission and the oath for this commission has not yet become part of the constitutional process,” said Mr. Ahmed asserting that he is conveying the decision of the party regarding the Constitution Reform Commission in the presence of Chairman Tarique Rahman.

The oath taking ceremony was paused after the BNP members were sworn in with the members of the opposition bloc not showing up with reports that the elected members of the Jamaat-e-Islami –led 11-party alliance were thinking of boycotting the swearing-in ceremony. They, however, arrived in the parliament accompanied by the newly elected independent MPs where they were administered two separate oaths for the parliament as well as the Constitution Reform Commission.

The twin-oath procedure was conceived to integrate the results of the parliamentary election as well as referendum for extensive constitutional amendment by including the July Charter into the constitution.

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The July Charter, a document that was adopted by the interim government in consultation with political parties on October 17, 2025, is based on recommendations that were received to change governance in Bangladesh after the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina-led government on August 5, 2024.

The BNP has said that though they had signed the July Charter on October 17, 2025, the final text of the July Charter has gone far beyond what they had agreed to.

Bangladesh will take a decision on the renewal of the 1996 Ganga Water Treaty based on its “national interest”, according to Humaiun Kobir, foreign affairs adviser to Tarique Rahman, chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Bangladesh’s Prime Minister-designate following the BNP’s landslide victory in this week’s election.

Speaking to The Hindu in an exclusive interview, Mr. Kobir urged India to “break from the past”, adding that communal incidents in India are a “matter of concern” for Bangladesh.

The Ganga Water Treaty, concluded in 1996, is due for renewal by December this year. Once a BNP government is formed, renewal of the treaty is expected to be one of the first items to be featured in bilateral talks. In the past, however, Bangladesh has often been told about the interest of the Indian states that are involved in riparian agreements, Mr. Kobir said. Explaining the approach of Mr. Rahman’s incoming government, he stressed: “We will move forward in a way so that it meets our national interest.”

United stance

Mr. Kobir added that the BNP leadership has urged the outgoing interim government of Prof. Mohammed Yunus “to leave some advice” regarding some issues, so they will have some idea of the negotiations that may have taken place during its tenure, between August 2024 and February 2026.

He explained that the political environment of Bangladesh has changed as a result of the 2024 uprising. As a result, “politics cannot be as usual”, he said, noting that all sides of Bangladeshi politics will come together on issues of national interest. “The biggest achievement of the uprising is that on issues of national interest we can all unite despite our differences,” he stressed.

Communal violence, rhetoric

Mr. Kobir raised the issue of communal tensions across the border. “The thing is, communal violence in India is a concern,” he said. “People of Bangladesh feel that India is becoming an intolerant society and a lot of far-right individuals are winning in elections through highly communal rhetoric,” he said, terming this as “disturbing”. 

In Bangladesh, he said, the Jamaat could not come to power because it resorted to extremist rhetoric. “Such rhetoric cannot get you electoral victory in Bangladesh ever but in India people are voting in favour of such rhetoric. India used to be a pluralist country of sorts at one point and the current trends are not good for India. We hope we can overcome these challenges,” he said.

He also highlighted the problem of Bangladeshi civilians killed by Indian border security forces. India regards these incidents as law enforcement to deal with Bangladeshi smugglers and criminals who attempt to venture across the border to cause trouble, but Mr. Kobir said that these incidents can also impact public sentiment with regard to bilateral relations.

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‘Recognise political reality’

Mr. Kobir appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s congratulatory messages that came soon after the BNP won a two-thirds majority in the February 12 election. Bangladesh will invite “regional leaders” to participate at the swearing-in ceremony, he said. However, he also urged New Delhi to recognise the existing political reality in Bangladesh, saying, “We hope we can move and make a clean break from the past and India must realise that Sheikh Hasina and Awami League does not exist in Bangladesh today and the resounding victory has shown that.”

Mr. Rahman has been working on his international contacts during his years in exile in London, Mr. Kobir said. In his travels to global capitals in Europe, West Asia and the United States, the Prime Minister-designate has forged friendly ties with relevant stakeholders, he added.