2 weeks ago
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Dhaka, Bangladesh — Standing amid a oversea of radical connected the outskirts of Dhaka, Tarique Rahman, the acting president of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), declared that helium had “a program for the radical and for the country”.
It’s a program that has been 17 years successful the making. On Thursday, the lad of the critically sick BNP chairperson and erstwhile Prime Minister Khaleda Zia landed successful Dhaka, returning from Britain, wherever helium had lived successful exile since 2008. Tens of thousands of supporters gathered astatine a rally to invited him home.
“We privation peace,” Rahman said. “We person radical from the hills and the plains successful this state – Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians. We privation to physique a harmless Bangladesh, wherever each woman, antheral and kid tin permission location safely and instrumentality safely.”
His instrumentality comes astatine a clip of heightened governmental uncertainty and hostility successful Bangladesh, pursuing the assassination of salient younker person Osman Hadi and with a nationalist predetermination scheduled for February 2026. The BNP has agelong been wide seen arsenic the frontrunner successful the polls, with Rahman viewed arsenic a starring contender for the premier ministership.
But the escalating unit successful the state pursuing Hadi’s assassination — the offices of the country’s 2 starring newspapers were acceptable connected fire, and a Hindu antheral was lynched — and deepening governmental tensions had led to fears that the predetermination mightiness beryllium derailed.
Analysts accidental that Tarique Rahman’s instrumentality and his code are apt to assistance calm the country’s governmental waters and reenforce the momentum for Bangladesh to clasp its predetermination arsenic planned.
“His accomplishment has opened a caller model of opportunity. I deliberation this volition trim the uncertainty astir predetermination and make a consciousness of stableness that the state is looking for,” said Asif Mohammad Shahan, prof of improvement studies astatine the University of Dhaka.
None of this was guaranteed adjacent a fewer days ago.
Supporters of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting president Tarique Rahman outcry slogans pursuing his accomplishment astatine Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport successful Dhaka aft much than 17 years of self-imposed exile successful London, connected Thursday, December 25, 2025 [Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP Photo]Uncertainty to stability
With his mother, Khaleda Zia, critically ill, Rahman, whose begetter Ziaur Rahman was president from 1977 until his assassination successful 1981, had agelong been expected to play a decisive relation successful shaping the BNP’s prospects astatine the upcoming elections. Until recently, however, his instrumentality from exile had remained uncertain.
Rahman himself had demurred connected committing to return. His accomplishment present clears that uncertainty but opens up a caller question, said Shahan: Can Rahman genuinely lead?
“If helium takes a steadfast stance against extremism, assures the radical that helium understands their concerns and volition enactment for a unchangeable governmental future, promises to bring astir normalcy and shows that helium is acceptable to govern portion establishing a steadfast power implicit enactment apparatus, the governmental concern volition amended significantly,” Shahan said.
But if Rahman fails to present a wide message, “things volition deteriorate,” Shahan said.
Mubashar Hasan, an adjunct researcher astatine the Humanitarian and Development Research Initiative (HADRI) astatine Western Sydney University, said the nationalist fervour disposable connected Thursday implicit Rahman’s instrumentality suggested that helium mightiness payment from enactment beyond the accepted BNP elector base.
“People’s involvement and absorption to his instrumentality is not constricted to the BNP alone, but includes radical from each walks of life,” Hasan said, adding that galore successful Bangladesh volition apt spot the enactment arsenic a stabilising unit amid the chaos of the past 16 months, since the ouster of erstwhile PM Sheikh Hasina pursuing monolithic student-led protests. The interim authorities of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which assumed bureau aft Hasina fled to India successful August 2024, has faced expanding disapproval implicit its failures to guarantee instrumentality and order, and to present connected broader promised reforms.
The tremendous rally by supporters to greet Rahman besides showed the BNP’s organisational and governmental strength, Hasan said.
But there’s different factor, too, that could enactment successful Rahman’s favour, said Hasan: On the streets of Bangladesh, galore judge that Khaleda Zia’s lad was treated unjustly and forced to permission the country. Under a military-backed caretaker authorities that was successful powerfulness betwixt 2006 and 2009, Rahman faced a scope of charges. He was subsequently convicted, successful absentia, successful immoderate of those cases.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting chairman, Tarique Rahman, centre, arrives astatine Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport successful Dhaka, connected Thursday, December 25, 2025 [Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP Photo]The instrumentality of the son
After the BNP past mislaid powerfulness successful 2006, the governmental tide had flowed against Rahman.
He faced a bid of convictions, from execution to corruption, portion stories of his alleged misdeeds ran prolifically successful the Bangladeshi media during the years of Sheikh Hasina’s government.
However, helium nevertheless succeeded successful keeping a beardown clasp implicit his enactment and maintained its unity. The 2024 uprising gave him a 2nd chance. All the cases against him were dropped implicit the past twelvemonth and a half, and convictions were stayed, paving the mode for his return.
“Tarique Rahman’s defining trait arsenic a person volition beryllium his absorption connected policy. He is known arsenic a argumentation buff wrong his interior ellipse and successful today’s code successful beforehand of millions of supporters, helium stated repeatedly that helium has a plan,” said US-based Bangladeshi geopolitical columnist Shafquat Rabbee.
One cardinal facet of his program that volition beryllium watched intimately crossed South Asia is his attack to India.
Tarique Rahman waves to supporters from a autobus successful Dhaka aft returning from London connected Thursday, December 25, 2025 [Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP Photo]‘Adult successful the room’
Traditionally, India has had a mostly acold narration with the BNP, maintaining functional ties whenever the Bangladeshi enactment was successful power, but acold excessively often making it wide that it preferred Hasina and her Awami League arsenic its partner.
The BNP’s decades-old confederation with the Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamist group, didn’t assistance ties with India. The Jamaat had opposed Bangladesh’s independency from Pakistan and has historically favoured person relations with Islamabad.
But successful caller months, adjacent arsenic anti-Hasina sentiment successful Bangladesh has led to aggravated anti-India rhetoric from respective governmental groups successful the country, the BNP has maintained a comparatively restrained posture.
It has besides breached up with the Jamaat, and has tried to position itself arsenic a centrist party, seemingly anxious to inhabit the governmental abstraction vacated by the Awami League, which has been banned from participating successful the February election.
Although Tarique Rahman has adopted a “Bangladesh First” slogan, governmental observers judge helium is improbable to beryllium a firebrand anti-Indian politician.
“The baseline presumption for India with Tarique backmost successful Bangladesh volition beryllium that the Indians volition yet person an big successful the country with superior governmental musculus to negociate with,” Rabbee said.
Recent governmental surveys successful Bangladesh amusement the BNP and the Jamaat are moving adjacent up of the election, with a important fig of voters inactive undecided.
There too, Rahman’s instrumentality should assistance the BNP, said analysts.
“His beingness volition decidedly energise the enactment basal and promote undecided voters to interruption for the BNP,” Shahan of the University of Dhaka said. “If helium performs, we whitethorn precise good spot a ‘wave’ predetermination wherever the BNP tin triumph successful a landslide.”
For that to happen, though, Rahman volition request to amusement that “he tin link with people, reassure them, and supply a wide pathway for betterment and antiauthoritarian transition,” Shahan said.
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