Photo: BBC
- Anticipated Election Victory: There’s a strong expectation that Tarique Rahman will be victorious in the upcoming parliamentary elections slated for February 12th.
- Return from Exile: BNP leader Tarique Rahman is poised to return to Bangladesh on Thursday, marking his first appearance in the country after nearly 17 years abroad.
- Mass Welcome Planned: Approximately 50 lakh (5 million) BNP supporters are preparing to greet Rahman, whose homecoming precedes the significant general elections scheduled for February of the following year. His return also coincides with public anger following the death of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi.
- Prime Ministerial Contender: The 60-year-old Tarique Rahman, son of the ailing former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is considered a leading candidate for the position of Bangladesh’s next prime minister.
- Political Transition: Rahman’s return occurs during a period of political uncertainty in Bangladesh, a year after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s departure to India amidst student-led demonstrations.
- BNP’s Current Standing: Tarique Rahman currently serves as the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which has seen a rise in influence since Sheikh Hasina’s departure from power.
- Motivations for Return: Rahman’s decision to come back is influenced by both political shifts and personal reasons. Party insiders indicate that his mother, Khaleda Zia, 80, has been in poor health for months, prompting his urgent return.
- Interim Government and Election Context: The country is presently governed by an interim administration led by Chief Advisor Mohammad Yunus. The February elections will be the first held since the student protests concluded Hasina’s 15-year tenure.
- Survey Data: A recent survey by the US-based International Republican Institute suggests the BNP is likely to secure the most parliamentary seats. The hardline Jamaat-e-Islami party is also identified as a strong contender.
- Past Legal Issues: Rahman has resided in London since 2008, having faced multiple criminal convictions, including for money laundering and a plot to assassinate Hasina. He was cleared of all charges after Hasina’s removal.
- National Juncture: Bangladesh is at a critical point, with Rahman’s return testing the BNP’s capacity for peaceful mobilization and the interim government’s commitment to a fair transfer of power. The National Citizen Party (NCP), born from youth protests, has expressed a positive view of Rahman’s return.
Tarique Rahman: BNP’s successor and nation’s “youngest prisoners of war”
Born in 1967 in what was then East Pakistan, Rahman is the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and army commander Ziaur Rahman. His childhood was marked by a brief detention during the 1971 liberation war, an experience the party later highlighted by calling him “one of the youngest prisoners of war.”
After a short period studying international relations at Dhaka University, he entered the political arena at age 23. His father, Ziaur Rahman, rose to prominence following the 1975 coup that resulted in the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the nation’s founding leader and father of Hasina.
Ziaur Rahman himself was killed in 1981, when Tarique was 15 years old. Subsequently, Khaleda Zia achieved the distinction of becoming the nation’s first female prime minister, sharing periods of leadership with Hasina.
