BNP leader Tarique Rahman returns to Bangladesh after 17 years ahead of Feb polls

Dhaka, Dec 25: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting chairman Tarique Rahman returned to Dhaka on Thursday after more than 17 years in self-imposed exile, drawing a rousing welcome from party leaders and supporters in a development expected to energise the BNP ahead of the February 12 parliamentary elections.

Rahman, 60, the son of ailing former prime minister and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, has emerged as a leading contender for the top post as the party positions itself to reclaim power. His homecoming comes at a time of heightened political volatility following the killing of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi, a key figure in last year’s mass protests that led to the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government.

Accompanied by his wife Zubaida Rahman and daughter Zaima, Tarique Rahman was received at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport by BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and senior party leaders amid heavy security arrangements. He later left the airport in a bulletproof bus to attend a mass reception, where tens of thousands of supporters were waiting.

Rahman is also expected to visit his critically ill mother, currently undergoing treatment in the ICU of Evercare Hospital in Dhaka. Ahead of his return from London, the BNP had said that Rahman “longed to be near his mother during her moment of crisis.”

Before leaving the airport, Rahman spoke briefly over the phone with interim government chief Muhammad Yunus, though details of the conversation were not disclosed.

Around 4,000 personnel from the army, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and police were deployed across Dhaka, with authorities enforcing strict security measures, including drone restrictions near sensitive locations.

The political landscape remains tense, with the Awami League barred from contesting the polls under the Anti-Terrorism Act, leaving Jamaat-e-Islami—BNP’s former ally—as its principal rival. Rahman’s return also coincides with strained India-Bangladesh relations, further complicated by unrest following Hadi’s killing and concerns raised by New Delhi over minority safety in Bangladesh.

PTI