BNP Secretary General and LGRD Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is likely to be the party’s nominee for president, according to multiple party sources.
Party insiders said the nomination would be a reward for his long contributions to the BNP.
Fakhrul has also signed the consent form for the presidential nomination. The party may formally announce him as its presidential candidate on Wednesday or Thursday, said party sources.
The BNP collected two nomination papers for the presidential election Sunday morning, further setting the process in motion.
Party sources said a final decision on the candidate is expected before the deadline for submitting nomination papers.
If Fakhrul is formally nominated and subsequently elected president, his departure from both the cabinet and the BNP secretary general's post would require simultaneous changes in the government and the party leadership, they said.
Under an arrangement now being discussed, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed is likely to take charge of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, currently headed by Fakhrul.
Water Resources Minister Md Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anee, meanwhile, is being considered to succeed Salahuddin as home minister, according to the sources.
They stressed that these changes have not yet been formally approved and would depend on Fakhrul eventually becoming president.
Adjustments could still be made before any final announcement.
Senior Joint Secretary General and prime minister's adviser Ruhul Kabir Rizvi is expected to serve as acting secretary general if Fakhrul leaves the post, the sources said.
Rizvi is likely to remain in charge until the BNP holds its next national council, where the party would make a longer-term decision on the secretary general's position.
The possible elevation of Fakhrul would mark a major change in the BNP's leadership structure, as he has served at the centre of the party's organisational and political decision-making for more than a decade.
He became acting secretary general on March 20, 2011, before being made full secretary general on March 30, 2016. Earlier, he was named senior joint secretary general at the BNP's fifth national council on December 8, 2009.
Born in Thakurgaon on January 26, 1948, Fakhrul entered politics after careers in teaching and government service.
He was elected chairman of Thakurgaon municipality in 1988 as an independent candidate and joined the BNP in the early 1990s during the anti-Ershad movement. He became president of the Thakurgaon district BNP in 1992.
Fakhrul was elected an MP from Thakurgaon-1 in the 2001 parliamentary election and served as state minister for agriculture and later for civil aviation and tourism during the BNP-led government from 2001 to 2006.
Salahuddin, a member of the BNP Standing Committee, is among the party's senior policymakers and currently heads the home ministry.
During the BNP-led four-party alliance government beginning in 2001, he served as state minister for communications. Earlier, he worked as an assistant private secretary to then prime minister Khaleda Zia between 1991 and 1996.
If the proposed reshuffle goes ahead, his transfer to LGRD would place another senior BNP leader in charge of a ministry closely linked to local government institutions and development activities across the country.
Anee, meanwhile, is a senior BNP leader and three-time MP from Lakshmipur-3.
He was elected to parliament in 2001 and 2008 and returned to the Jatiya Sangsad in the 2026 national election before being appointed water resources minister.
Anee also has a long background in party politics. During his years at Dhaka University, he held several positions in student politics and later served as president of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal from 1996 to 1998.
He became a member of the BNP Central Executive Committee in 1999 and later served in a number of party positions, including joint secretary general and convener of the Lakshmipur district BNP.
His possible appointment to the home ministry would represent a significant elevation within the cabinet, given the ministry's central role in law enforcement and internal security.
Bangladesh will elect its president on August 20, with voting scheduled from 2:00pm to 5:00pm, according to the Election Commission's announcement on August 6.
EC said nomination papers can be submitted from 10:00am to 4:00pm on August 13. The nomination papers will be scrutinised on August 16. The deadline for withdrawal of candidature is 4:00pm on August 18.
The office of president became vacant after Mohammed Shahabuddin resigned on July 24. Following his resignation, Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad has been discharging the duties as acting president.
