Asif, Mahfuz exit as election plans shift
Staff Reporter :
Two key youth representatives of Bangladesh’s interim government Mahfuz Alam and Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan resigned from their advisory posts on Wednesday, in what marks another significant shift inside the Yunus-led administration formed after last year’s July uprising.
A senior official at the Chief Adviser’s Office confirmed to the media on Wednesday evening that both advisers had formally submitted their resignation letters.
Mahfuz and Asif, who rose to prominence as student leaders during the July 2024 uprising, were appointed to the interim cabinet in recognition of their role in the movement that toppled the Awami League government on 5 August.
Since their induction, Mahfuz had been overseeing the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, while Asif held responsibilities for the Local Government Division along with the Youth and Sports Ministry.
Their departure reduces the number of student representatives in the 23-member advisory council to one. Earlier, on 25 February, fellow student leader Md Nahid Islam resigned from the council to launch the National Citizens Party (NCP), a new political platform formed by the youth leaders who had spearheaded the uprising.
Mahfuz initially joined the interim government as a special assistant to the Chief Adviser on 28 August last year. He was sworn in as adviser on 10 November, though initially without portfolio. After Nahid’s departure, Mahfuz was assigned the information ministry.
Asif Mahmud, meanwhile, was first given the labour and youth affairs portfolios. In November, following the death of adviser A F Hasan Arif, he was reassigned to lead the Local Government Division while continuing to oversee youth and sports.
Asif signals electoral ambitions Speaking at a press conference at the Secretariat on Wednesday afternoon — hours before news of his resignation surfaced — Asif Mahmud made it clear he intends to run in the upcoming national elections.
“I will contest the election — that much is clear,”
he told reporters. “From where and under which party, that will be analysed later.”
Speculation over his political future has been intensifying since he applied on 9 November to change his voter registration to Dhanmondi, sparking rumours that he may contest from Dhaka-10 (Dhanmondi, Kalabagan, New Market and Hazaribagh).
Reports have also circulated about possible negotiations with BNP, though the party has already nominated its own candidate for Dhaka-10 in its second list announced on 4 December.
Pressed about whether he had resigned, Asif declined to comment directly. “I am not authorised to speak on this.
The Chief Adviser’s Office will inform at the appropriate time,” he said, adding that the issue remained undecided.
Asif also said he submitted his wealth statement today and has already cancelled his diplomatic passport — a key procedural step for government officials seeking to run for office.
Another jolt to an already shifting interim cabinet With Mahfuz and Asif both exiting, the interim government faces mounting questions about the political alignment of the youth bloc that once symbolised the July uprising’s promise of reform.
Their resignations come amidst expanding electoral manoeuvring, with NCP organising itself as a new force and multiple advisory positions already reshuffled over the past year.
The Chief Adviser’s Office is yet to make an official announcement regarding successors or reallocation of portfolios.