Tarique Rahman is set to be sworn in as Bangladesh's new Prime Minister on Tuesday following a decisive victory by his party in the recent general elections. Breaking with tradition, the 60-year-old Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairman’s swearing-in ceremony will take place at the South Plaza of the Parliament Complex rather than at Bangabhaban.

President Mohammed Shahabuddin will administer the oath to Rahman and the new cabinet members at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad in the afternoon, according to the state-run BSS news agency. Kaniz Maula, Secretary of the Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat, confirmed that MPs will be sworn in at 10:00 am, while the cabinet members’ ceremony is scheduled for 4:00 pm. Earlier, BNP will hold a parliamentary party meeting at 11:30 am to elect its parliamentary leader. Salah Uddin Ahmed, a BNP standing committee member, stated that as the leader of the majority party, Tarique Rahman will assume the role of Prime Minister.

India will be represented at the ceremony by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accompanied by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Lok Sabha Secretary-General Utpal Kumar Singh, according to sources. The BNP secured 209 out of 297 seats in the election, while the right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami won 68 seats. Following the victory, Rahman visited the homes of political rivals, including Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman and National Citizen Party convener Nahid Islam, exchanging greetings and engaging in friendly discussions.

Rahman will assume the office for the first time, succeeding interim government chief Muhammad Yunus, under whose tenure Dhaka’s relations with New Delhi had strained. The 13th parliamentary election, held on February 12, followed a period of political turmoil, security challenges, and unrest, including attacks on minorities, after student-led protests ended Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule in August 2024. Hasina’s Awami League was barred from contesting, and voter turnout was 59.44 percent.

In a historic outcome, four minority candidates, including two Hindus, all from the BNP, were elected. Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, a BNP standing committee member, and Nitai Roy Chowdhury, a vice president of the party, also won seats. The other two minority MPs are Saching Pru, a senior BNP Buddhist leader, and Dipen Dewan, from the Chakma Buddhist ethnic minority. Hindus make up roughly eight percent of Bangladesh’s 170 million population. International dignitaries attending the oath-taking ceremony include Maldives President Mohammed Muizzoo, Turkish Undersecretary Beris Ekinci, and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa.