Dipen Dewan
Profile
- Party
- BNP
- Constituency
- Rangamati
- Terms
- 1
- Disclosed wealth
- —
- Criminal cases
- 0
- Education
- SSC (1978); HSC, Rangamati Government College; LLM, University of Dhaka (7th BCS Judicial Service)
- Cabinet role
- Minister, Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs (sworn in 17 February 2026)
Cabinet minister (CHT Affairs); has been the most active CHT-linked minister in the Tarique Rahman government, engaging DCs, WFP, and Canada on hill development and eco-tourism in the first 90 days.
Recent activity
- 2026-05-14 international Met WFP representatives in Dhaka; sought WFP technical assistance for digital management and transparency in CHT social safety net programmes and emergency food delivery in remote hill areas. ↗
- 2026-05-11 statement Said government is in high-level discussions to remove administrative obstacles to foreign tourist movement in CHT; announced eco-tourism development would generate local employment. ↗
- 2026-05-06 appointment Chaired second session of Deputy Commissioners' Conference-2026 at Osmani Memorial Auditorium, Dhaka; directed DCs to mainstream CHT development with balanced land, forest, and resource management. ↗
- 2026-05-04 speech Inaugurated workshop on climate adaptation pilot project in Bandarban and Khagrachhari; committed to expanding programme across all CHT districts under PM Tarique Rahman's guidance. ↗
- 2026-04-25 constituency_visit Visited Rangamati; announced Tk 10 lakh allocation through Rangamati Hill District Council to support students in remote upazilas. ↗
- 2026-04-21 international Met Canadian counterpart; proposed joint Bangladesh-Canada eco-tourism development in CHT. ↗
- 2026-04-07 constituency_visit Visited Rangamati; said building a drug-free intellectual society is the government's top challenge in the hill districts. ↗
- 2026-02-17 appointment Sworn in as Minister of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs in PM Tarique Rahman's cabinet, one of four minority MPs in the 300-seat parliament. ↗↗
- 2026-02-13 statement Vowed to work for welfare of every resident of Rangamati regardless of ethnicity; said election victory is 'a victory for democracy' and pledged communal harmony, women's empowerment, and focus on education, health, and agriculture. ↗
- 2026-02-12 other Elected to 13th Parliament from Rangamati (constituency 299) with 201,544 votes (76.45%), defeating Independent Pohel Chakma (31,222 votes, 11.84%) by 170,322 votes -- one of the four largest victory margins in the entire election. ↗↗
Provenance & notes
Constituency 299 covers the entire Rangamati Hill District (CHT) -- all 10 upazilas; confirmed by Wikipedia and EC documentation. Constituency created 1984. No boundary redraw in 2024: Rangamati not in EC's 46-seat redraw gazette (Daily Star, Sept 2024). Vote counts confirmed by BSS (primary) and Wikipedia: Dipen Dewan 201,544, Pohel Chakma 31,222. Total valid votes 263,629 back-calculated from Wikipedia-published share of 76.45% (201,544/0.7645 = 263,629); runner-up share 11.84% (31,222/263,629); margin 64.61 pp. Registered voters 503,912; turnout 55.57% (both per Wikipedia). Dipen Dewan is a first-time MP -- no prior parliamentary terms confirmed across BSS, Wikipedia, and Voice7 News ('BNP's New Face Dipen Dewan in Hills'). He is Chakma Buddhist; father Subimal Dewan was adviser on CHT affairs to President Ziaur Rahman. Served 19 years as judicial officer (7th BCS Judicial Service, Joint District Judge) before resigning in 2005 to join BNP. wealth_disclosed_bdt and criminal_cases: EC affidavit PDF not publicly indexed at time of verification -- no imputation; Wikipedia and BSS biography report no criminal cases. Runner-up Pohel Chakma ran as Independent (not JSS/PCJSS affiliated per available sources). CHT indigenous seat: prior MP Dipankar Talukdar (Awami League, Chakma) held this seat in 1991, June 1996, 2008, 2018; Dewan is first BNP-affiliated indigenous MP from Rangamati. Committee memberships for 13th parliament not yet published by parliament.gov.bd at time of verification.
Sources
- https://www.bssnews.net/national-parlament-election-2026/360431
- https://www.bssnews.net/others/360697
- https://www.bssnews.net/news/378702
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dipen_Dewan
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rangamati_(Jatiya_Sangsad_constituency)
- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/17/who-are-bangladeshs-new-cabinet-members
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/dipen-dewan-takes-charge-minister-chittagong-hill-tracts-affairs-1365381
- https://www.bssnews.net/news/384761
- https://www.bssnews.net/news/387130