Bangladesh’s elections frontrunner Tarique Rahman ends exile
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
Acting Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairman Tarique Rahman (centre) speaks to members and supporters after his return from London, in Dhaka.
PHOTO: EPA
Follow topic:
DHAKA - Mr Tarique Rahman, a frontrunner in the forthcoming parliamentary elections, ended a 17-year exile in London and returned to Bangladesh, a move that signals a major shift in the South Asian nation’s political landscape.
“Finally in Sylhet, on the soil of Bangladesh!” Mr Rahman, 60, said in a Facebook post on Dec 25.
Mr Rahman touched down at the Dhaka airport flanked by his wife, Mrs Zubaida Rahman, and daughter, Ms Zaima Rahman.
He exchanged handshakes and hugs with party members who had come to greet him.
The acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) had lived in the UK while facing corruption charges brought during a military-backed interim government, which he rejected as “bogus.”
He had initially left the country for medical treatment.
On Dec 25, Mr Rahman stood barefoot outside the airport terminal – a symbolic gesture of reconnecting with his homeland – before boarding a bulletproof bus for a 13km festive procession to the reception venue, where he addressed a large crowd.
Mr Rahman’s return comes after a mass uprising in 2024 ousted Sheikh Hasina
Mr Rahman was also pursued by Ms Hasina’s administration in a litany of cases.
His presence is expected to energise the BNP’s grassroots base and fill the political vacuum.
“I have a plan. I have a plan for the people of my country,” Mr Rahman said in an address to the supporters who had gathered in Dhaka.
This “plan is designed for the sake of the people, for the development of the nation and to change the fate of citizens.”
Authorities have dropped all pending charges against Mr Rahman after the fall of the Awami League government in August 2024, including convictions in a series of cases filed under the previous regime.
Mr Rahman is favoured to win polls slated for Feb 12.
‘Sharpen messaging’
“His success in this next phase of his political life will turn on whether he can appeal to disillusioned younger voters, sharpen messaging, unite a party riven by disputes over candidate selection, and convince a nation emerging from a tumultuous period that he can deliver the brighter future it seeks,” Mr Thomas Kean, a senior consultant at the International Crisis Group, wrote in a Dec 24 analysis.
Mr Rahman is the eldest son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and former President Ziaur Rahman, the founder of BNP who was assassinated in 1981.
He has served as the party’s acting chairman since his mother’s imprisonment in 2018.
Ms Khaleda Zia is hospitalised in Dhaka with multiple health complications.
Mr Rahman is expected to contest the upcoming election from the Bogura-6 constituency, a traditional stronghold in northern Bangladesh.
“In the past, BNP rescued the country from the brink of destruction, and it will do so again. However, difficult times lie ahead, so we must all remain united,” Mr Rahman said to his party members earlier this week. BLOOMBERG
