Asif Mahmud to Leave Election-Time Government, Hints at Return to Active Politics
Asif Mahmud, the current adviser to the ministries of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, and Youth and Sports, has announced he will not remain in his position in the upcoming polls-time government.
Speaking on the US-based media platform Thikana in a programme titled Thikana-e Khaled Mohiuddin on Tuesday (12 August), Mahmud hinted that, like fellow adviser Nahid Islam, he may step down before the next national election to re-engage with active politics.
“I have been involved in politics since 2018. That’s why I will resign from the government before the election schedule is announced,” he said. He also remarked that anyone with a political background or political ambitions—such as fellow adviser Mahfuz Alam—should not be part of an election-time government.
Speculation had already been circulating in political circles that the two student leaders serving as advisers, Asif Mahmud and Mahfuz Islam, might quit their government posts before the election to join the National Citizens’ Party (NCP). Mahmud, however, did not confirm whether he would join the NCP during the talk show, nor did he clarify whether he would contest in the upcoming polls.
Previously, Mahmud faced allegations of visiting the headquarters of the National Citizens’ Committee at the Rupayan Center in Dhaka’s Banglamotor amid internal disputes over the formation of the NCP. The allegation sparked debate on social media, though Mahmud has not provided a clear public statement on the matter.
Mahmud is a former leader of the now-suspended Democratic Students’ Force, a student organisation that played a frontline role in the uprising that toppled the Awami League government. He served as the convener of the Dhaka University unit of the group before moving into broader political engagement.
Political rumours have also linked Mahmud to a possible candidacy from Cumilla-3 (Muradnagar), suggesting tensions between him and BNP leader Kazi Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad, a former multiple-term MP from the constituency. Mahmud, however, dismissed these claims, saying, “Some people think I will contest from
