- Tarique Rahman, Khaleda Zia's son and political heir, will return to Bangladesh on Thursday
- Rahman's party BNP is a frontrunner in the Bangladesh elections scheduled for February next year
- He has already announced a series of programmes that the BNP will implement if it is elected
As Bangladesh descends into an abyss of violence with radical Islamic groups running amok, one of the major political events ahead of the elections scheduled for February is the return of one of the most important figures in current Bangladesh politics.
Tarique Rahman, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's son and political heir, and the acting chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), will return to Bangladesh on Thursday. The BNP has obtained permission to organise a reception marking the return of Tarique Rahman.
His return comes at a time when his country is at a crossroads, and Rahman could be in a position to give it direction as his party still remains the frontrunner in the February 2026 elections. The chances of a BNP win are high unless there is a major upset..
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While many argue that the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus has been reckless, especially when it comes to foreign policy, Tarique Rahman has clearly enunciated what Bangladesh's foreign policy will be under the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
In May this year, Tarique Rahman, emphasising the need for elections and reforms, questioned Yunus's mandate to make long-term foreign policy decisions
Bangladesh First Policy
He made it clear that Bangladesh will not seek closer ties with Rawalpindi or Delhi but put Bangladesh first. "Not Dilli, Not Pindi, Bangladesh before everything," he had declared at a massive rally in the Nayapaltan area of Dhaka, urging supporters to repeat the slogan.
This is very different from the foreign policy that Muhammad Yunus has charted for Bangladesh, without an elected mandate. Yunus has charted the complete opposite path when it comes to the foreign policy direction adopted by ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Hasina built close ties with India and balanced Bangladesh's interests when it came to China and India, all the while maintaining a safe distance from Pakistan. Muhammad Yunus has batted for close ties with Pakistan at the cost of the historic relationship that India and Bangladesh shared.
Tarique Rahman's Bangladesh Nationalist Party has been very critical of the Sheikh Hasina-led government, as it was at the receiving end of what it has termed as fascism and the decline of democracy under her rule. But it has had its differences with the Yunus-led interim government, too, on several issues. In fact, Bangladesh watchers believe that Muhammad Yunus was forced to declare elections in February under pressure from the BNP, which had locked horns with the Yunus Government over holding elections.
The BNP and the Jamaat-E-Islami Bangladesh have been in an alliance before, but no one knows about the impact of Bangladesh's violent political history better than Tarique Rahman. With Sheikh Hasina's party, the Bangladesh Awami League, banned from participating in the election by Muhammad Yunus, Tarique Rahman's BNP is at the centre stage of Bangladesh politics.
The Jamaat-E-Islami Bangladesh was allowed to return to the mainstream to try to create an alternative force in Bangladesh. The Jamaat has no problem with Yunus staying in power till it regroups completely to allow a complete takeover of radical Islamic forces in Bangladesh. The Jamaat Ameer has ruled out joining any traditional electoral alliances, effectively making it a contest between the BNP and the other forces in the fray. A delay in holding elections hurts the BNP as its campaign has already picked up momentum. Those who gain from a delay are the Jamaat-E-Islami and the NCP, who still need to organise themselves politically at the grassroots level from an election perspective.
The Jamaat has also warned that holding the national election and a referendum on the same day could lead to an "electoral genocide", but the Yunus government has announced a referendum on the same day, setting the stage for Jamaat-E-Islami to obstruct the election.
It is in this situation that Tarique Rahman has the task of uniting the country should his party win the election and he becomes the Prime Minister. Rahman has already outlined a campaign and announced a series of programmes that the BNP will implement once it is elected.
The BNP has already collected nomination papers on behalf of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia for the Bogura-7 (Gabtali-Shajahanpur) constituency, while Tarique Rahman will be nominated by the party from the Bogura-6 (Sadar) seat. Between 1991 and 2008, Khaleda Zia won every election from the Bogura-6 constituency.
Rahman has positioned himself and his party as a champion of democracy and the return to an elected government. Addressing a BNP gathering earlier this month, Rahman said, "Only democracy can save us from this, and it is you, each and every member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, who can strengthen the foundation of that democracy."
He has been living abroad since he left the country with his family in 2008. Tarique Rahman spent 18 months in jail before being released on September 3, 2008, following which he left for the United Kingdom.
