Changing Dynamics ::: Yunus Govt pushes student leaders Information Adviser Mahfuj Alam and Local Govt Adviser Asif Mahmud Sojib to step down

The fierce opposition to the student leaders by the principal opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami over their suspected bias for the National Citizen Party (NCP) has yielded some results. 

The Yunus government pushed Information and Broadcasting Adviser Mahfuj Alam and Local Government Adviser Asif Mahmud Sojib Bhuyian, to resign.

Advisers have been performing the task of ministers in the interim government in Bangladesh since the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government. The fact of the matter is with Bangladesh inching closer to the 2026 polls, over ambitious Muhammad Yunus is facing a delicate task of balancing his image with the realities of power and perception.

Now the students' set-up in Bangladesh's interim government under Muhammad Yunus, the members of which he once hailed as the "brains" of the July-August uprising, is now collapsing like a deck of cards. The Yunus-led interim administration has asked two of the advisors from the student agitation to step down from their ministerial posts.

Dhaka-based daily Prothom Alo reports that the opposition from the BNP and Jamaat stems from doubts over the neutrality of the advisors, who are seen as being too close to the newly floated student-led NCP. 

With their political ambitions and closeness to the NCP, questions have been raised over their impartiality, especially given that not a caretaker government, but the Yunus-led interim government would be overseeing the proposed elections. Yunus has suggested that a general election will be conducted in February.  

The NCP was formed by Nahid Islam, another anti-Hasina agitation leader, who stepped down in February. 

He became the convener of the newly launched NCP, formed by the students of the July–August uprising. 

It was a students-led anti-quota agitation that turned into an anti-government movement, forcing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina into exile in August 2024. 

The move comes amid escalating political friction, with the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami leading the charge against the student advisors' roles. In October, BNP leaders met Yunus, demanding the ouster of "controversial" advisors without naming them. They cited partisan biases that undermined the interim government's neutrality.

The very next day, a four-member Jamaat delegation confronted Yunus at Jamuna state guesthouse, voicing similar concerns. Jamaat's Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher, heading the group, said, "We did not raise concerns about all advisers. But, only a few. We said some people around you [chief adviser] mislead you. We have confidence in you, but we believe some individuals close to you are working in favour of a particular party. You should remain cautious about them".

Taher stopped short of demanding resignations, adding, "From the very beginning, we have been drawing attention to this matter. We have not demanded anyone's removal yet. We are only raising awareness and allowing time for consideration. If nothing changes, we will decide our next steps accordingly," the Dhaka Tribune reported last week.

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