Bangladesh on edge, Khaleda Zia’s son Tarique Rahman lands in Dhaka after 17-year exile

After 17 long years, Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s acting Chairman and the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, Tarique Rahman , returned to the country today. According to the Bangladeshi news outlet Prothom Alo, Rahman arrived in Dhaka at around 12:00 pm.

BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said during his visit, Rahman will be on a three-day visit to the country. Salahuddin Ahmed announced Tarique Rahman’s three-day programme at a press conference at the BNP chairperson’s political office in Gulshan in Dhaka on Wednesday afternoon. The BNP leader said that after landing at the airport, the party chairman will proceed to the reception venue on the July Expressway, also known as the 300 Feet Road.

There, he will meet top party leaders along with Bangladeshi activists and will deliver a speech to the nation. Rahman’s visit to the country is crucial since it is coming just months before the country goes to the polls. After his address, the BNP leader would visit Evercare Hospital to see his mother, BNP supremo Khaleda Zia.

What Rahman’s itinerary in Bangladesh would look like

At the presser, Salahuddin Ahmed said on Friday, December 26, after the Jumma prayers, Tarique Rahman will first visit the grave of Ziaur Rahman at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital. From there, he will go to the National Martyrs’ Monument in Savar to pay tribute to the martyrs of the Liberation War.

The next day, the BNP chief will complete his national identity card-related procedures. It is still unclear if Rahman will personally go to the Election Commission office in Agargaon in the capital, as this will be informed later. He will complete all procedures to become a voter that day. He is then scheduled to go to the Dhaka University campus to visit the grave of martyred Osman Hadi, Salahuddin Ahmed added.

How India should look at Rahman’s visit

Following the July protests, the pro-India Awami League has been barred from contesting in the upcoming polls, with the party’s supremo and former Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina living in New Delhi. India’s next best option to maintain cordial ties with Bangladesh could be BNP, since the alternatives include radical Islamists running amok and spewing anti-India hate under interim chief Muhammad Yunus.  

Hence, India is seeing BNP as a more liberal and democratic party despite the fact that in the past, the party was known to have strained ties with New Delhi. In the midst of this, the student-led National Citizen Party (NCP), another player in the polls, has alleged that the BNP was inducting Awami League members.

There have also been signals that BNP and India are seeking to reset ties. On December 1, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concern and offered India’s support for the critically ill Khaleda Zia . The BNP responded to the gesture and expressed gratitude, a rare and significant instance of political warmth after years of rocky ties. Because of these reasons, many see BNP’s win in the poll as good news for India.