 "Tarique Rahman’s return comes after the Bangladesh government, headed by Chief Advisor Mohammed Yunus, announced that elections would be held in February 2026: Image courtesy: trahmanbnp/Instagram")
Tarique Rahman is set to return to Bangladesh.
The de facto chief of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) and son of a former prime minister has said his return to the country is imminent. Rahman, 59, has been in self-imposed exile in London for nearly two decades.
“For some reasonable reasons my return has not happened… but the time has come, and I will return soon," Rahman said on Monday. The BNP chief, giving his first interview in nearly two decades, confirmed that he is running in the upcoming election and added that the people will decide whether he will become prime minister.
Rahman’s return comes after the Bangladesh government, headed by Chief Advisor Mohammed Yunus, announced that elections would be held in February 2026. Rahman met Yunus in London earlier this year.
But who is Rahman? What does his return mean for Bangladesh?
Early years
Rahman was born on 20 November 1965 in northern Bangladesh’s Bogura. His mother is Khaleda Zia, the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh. His father, Ziaur Rahman, the former Bangladesh president and general who fought in the 1971 Liberation War, was assassinated in 1981.
Rahman studied at the Shaheen High School and College – from which he cleared Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC). He then went to the prestigious Dhaka Residential Model College.
He is said to have pursued international relations and political science at Dhaka University. Rahman then entered the private sector – investing in textiles and shipping services and founding several successful businesses. He is married to Zubaida Rahman, a physician.
Political career
His political career began when he joined the BNP’s Bogra committee. Rahman is said to have played a key role in the lead-up to the 1991 parliamentary elections, which were held after eight years of military rule.
That election resulted in a BNP landslide and Zia being sworn in as the country’s first woman prime minister and the second Muslim female prime minister in the world (after Benazir Bhutto). The BNP would lose the 1996 polls to the Hasina-led Awami League only to return to power in 2001. This was when Rahman was appointed the party’s senior joint secretary general. It is at this time, when his mother was ruling, that Rahman made a journey across Bangladesh and established strong ties with the grassroots.
In 2009, Rahman was elevated to the position of senior vice chairman of the BNP. By now, the Awami League led by Hasina was back in power and she was prime minister for the second time. Rahman left Bangladesh for London shortly before Hasina assumed office. He had since kept a low profile and was rarely seen in public other than at weddings of prominent members of the Bangladeshi diaspora or events marking national holidays. However, Rahman did give speeches outlining the physical and psychological turmoil he had faced while he had been imprisoned by the previous military government.
Hasina had held on to power in Bangladesh since taking office in 2009 . Independent observers had said polls won by her party – in 2014 and 2018 – were marred by irregularities. Her years in power were also marked by crackdowns on critics, dissent, and accusations of human rights violations. In August 2015, the Bangladesh High Court had banned media and online outlets from publishing or broadcasting any of Rahman’s speeches. This came after he said the BNP would continue its stir against the government until Hasina resigned.
In 2018, Rahman was convicted in absentia of masterminding a deadly grenade attack on a campaign rally for Hasina in 2004 that left 20 dead and Hasina herself injured. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. Rahman had insisted the charge was fabricated. He also had several graft and criminal cases lodged against him.
Zia, meanwhile, that same year, was convicted by the Bangladesh High Court and sentenced to prison for over a decade in a corruption case. It was at this time that Rahman became de facto chief of the BNP and took a hand in the day-to-day running of the party via video calls and phone conferences with the rank and file. He was also said to stay in touch with the cadre via WhatsApp and Zoom. Zia in 2020 was put under house arrest by Hasina with two conditions – she could not travel abroad nor could she dabble in politics.
The BNP in 2023 had held huge rallies, industrial strikes, and road blockades, bringing Dhaka to a standstill. The campaign demanded the resignation of Hasina and the establishment of a neutral caretaker government to oversee the election. A rally in October 2023 ended in bloodshed and the BNP said about 25,000 opposition activists had been arrested in the ensuing crackdown. The government claimed that figure was at 11,000.
Hasina had accused Rahman of orchestrating violence from abroad. “We will not allow him to give orders from London to harm and kill people,” she had said. Rahman, meanwhile, fired back, claiming any election under the Hasina government would be a ‘sham’ designed to perpetuate Hasina’s rule.
Rahman and his wife were convicted in absentia of amassing wealth beyond their income in August 2023. Rahman was given nine years in prison while his wife was sentenced to three years in jail. The BNP had boycotted the 2024 election which Hasina won.
Hasina was eventually deposed in August 2024 by a student-led uprising. Zia herself was released from house arrest after the fall of the Hasina government in August 2024. She was later acquitted by the Bangladesh Supreme Court in January 2025. Rahman himself has been cleared of all charges since Hasina’s ouster. The Bangladesh High Court in August 2024 also reversed its ban on the dissemination of Rahman’s speeches.
What does his return mean for Bangladesh?
Rahman hails from one of the two major political dynasties in Bangladesh.
After all, his mother, Zia, a thrice-elected former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, is an archrival of Sheikh Hasina. The two women had come together to restore democracy to Bangladesh only for them to turn bitter enemies during the 1990s. Rahman’s father, Ziaur, a former army chief, had taken over the reins of the country after the assassination of Hasina’s father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Zia, 80, who remains chairperson of the BNP, is in failing health and has been for a long time. She was taken to London earlier this year for advanced treatment at Rahman’s home under the supervision of her doctors for liver cirrhosis and heart problems. In August, she was taken for a health check-up at the Evercare Hospital in Dhaka.
“She went to jail in good health and returned with ailments, she was deprived of her right to proper treatment,” Rahman said. “But… if her health permits, she will definitely contribute to the election.” However, despite his optimism, it remains unlikely that she will make a full-time or even partial return to the rough and tumble of Bangladesh politics.
With the 78-year-old Hasina now living in India, Rahman’s return to the country could potentially see the restoration of one of Bangladesh’s two major political dynasties. With his top-notch organisational acumen and his strong grassroots connect, Rahman could be a major force to reckon with.
However, Rahman’s political career has long been the subject of controversy. A leaked US embassy cable from 2008 calls him a “notorious and widely feared … symbol of kleptocratic government” who had “flagrantly” demanded bribes in return for procurement decisions and political appointments.
Also, Bangladesh seems to be in the mood for change. Rahman and the BNP also face new challenges after the Hasina-led Awami League was dissolved and many of its members remain imprisoned or in hiding. The Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamist party, has been gaining ground. The National Citizen Party (NCP) comprising some of the students who led the overthrow of Hasina, are also in the running for the upcoming polls – seemingly with the backing of Yunus himself.
The development also comes as the BNP has agreed to support the “July Declaration” of the interim government headed by Yunus. The declaration, made on 5 August 2025, the first anniversary of the ouster of Hasina, calls for the 2024 July uprising to be enshrined in the Constitution.
It also demands the trial of deposed Awami League leaders, recognition of those killed in the uprising, and protection for protesters involved in
the movement. “Those who are responsible for such cruelties, those who ordered them, must be punished. This is not about vengeance,” Tarique said. Rahman has expressed optimism about the upcoming election. “I strongly believe people cannot support a political party or its activists who murder, forcibly disappear people, or launder money,” he added.
But it remains to be seen whether Rahman can connect with the youth and the broader public upon his return and whether the BNP will return to power after decades in exile.
With inputs from agencies