Asif Mahmud to contest election, resignation will be on due time

Interim government adviser Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan has said he will contest the upcoming election, though the announcement of his resignation will be communicated in due time by the office of the chief adviser.

He made the remarks while responding to questions at a press briefing at the secretariat on Wednesday afternoon.

Following the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government on August 5 last year, an interim administration was formed on August 8 under the leadership of Professor Muhammad Yunus. To ensure representation of students who led the July uprising, three student leaders were inducted into the advisory council.

Of them, Nahid Islam was assigned to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, while Asif Mahmud took charge of the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Later, following the redistribution of responsibilities, he was also given the Ministry of Labour. Meanwhile, Mahfuz Alam initially served as special assistant to the chief adviser but was later assigned the Ministry of Local Government.

In February this year, student leaders who spearheaded the July uprising launched a new political party named the National Citizen Party (NCP). After forming the party, Nahid Islam resigned from his advisory role and became its convener. Subsequently, Mahfuz Alam was appointed adviser to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Earlier, Asif Mahmud had confirmed that he would vote in Dhaka. On November 9, he applied to transfer his voter registration to Dhanmondi. Since then, discussions have risen over the possibility of him contesting from Dhaka-10 constituency (Dhanmondi, Kalabagan, New Market and Hazaribagh).

Political circles speculated that he might run either as a joint candidate backed by the BNP or even contest under their ticket. However, on December 4, when the BNP published its second list of 36 candidates, Dhaka-10 was included. This leaves his political alignment unclear—whether he will run under a party’s banner or as an independent candidate.

Asif Mahmud has not clarified whether he will contest as an independent or under a party nomination.

At the briefing, he outlined several activities undertaken by the ministries he has been overseeing.