Stepping out of the wood-panelled VVIP arrival lounge of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on December 25, Tarique Rahman, the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), walked to a small grassy patch beside the car park, took off his shoes, and stepped onto the ground. It was a gesture signalling that he had reconnected with the land of his birth and finally secured the political launch that was denied to him when Bangladesh spiralled into political uncertainty in late 2006, preventing him from contesting his first parliamentary election. In his speech after returning from London, Mr. Rahman struck an inclusive tone, calling for inter-communal and inter-ethnic harmony in Bangladesh, and, with an eye on his political enemies, set about dismantling some of the allegations levelled against the BNP by its opponents.

From 2009 to 2024, Sheikh Hasina had repeatedly described the BNP and Mr. Rahman’s mother, Khaleda Zia, as pro-Pakistan. In his speech at the July 36 Expressway, Mr. Rahman invoked the BNP’s links to the 1971 Liberation War and the political developments of November 7, 1971 that brought his father, the late Gen. Ziaur Rahman, to de facto power. In doing so, Mr. Rahman signalled that, much like Ms. Hasina’s reliance on the legacy of her father, he too would build his political narrative around the legend of his father. Gen. Ziaur Rahman began his career as a soldier in the Pakistan Army and fought against India in the 1965 war, and later defected from the Pakistani military to declare the independence of East Pakistan hours after the Pakistan military launched Operation Searchlight on March 25, 1971.

Through his speech and subsequent messages, Mr. Rahman has signalled that this time, he had come ready with an alternative vision for Bangladesh — one in which the previous regime’s iconography would be challenged by the icons of the BNP.

The massive crowds that greeted him on December 25 and 26 might have given him a grand welcome, but Mr. Rahman was quickly reminded of the perils of Bangladeshi politics. Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman said his party, the country’s largest Islamist party, would “keep an eye” on Mr. Rahman. The remark was particularly significant because by emphasising inclusion, Mr. Rahman had conveyed that this time, unlike his last stint that ended in 2007, he intended to pursue a different trajectory.

Political trajectory

The political journey of Mr. Rahman was shaped by the traumatic memories of his childhood. On May 29, 1981, when he was in his teens, his father left for the port city of Chittagong for an unscheduled visit. A day later, he was shot and killed in an attempted coup that lasted only three days. After the assassination of Gen. Zia, the BNP was energetically led by Khaleda Zia, who often wore white and joined hands with her arch enemy, Sheikh Hasina, to challenge the military dictator, Hossein Mohammed Ershad. Ms. Zia went on to become Bangladesh’s first woman Prime Minister in 1991. Mr. Rahman started his formal political journey on June 22, 2002 when the BNP appointed him its 1st joint secretary.

During this period, Mr. Rahman earned a name for himself that found mention in U.S. Embassy cables from Dhaka, later released by WikiLeaks in 2005. Ms. Zia’s return to power coincided with the U.S. war on terror, centred on the Af-Pak region but with far-reaching consequences for South Asia. Amid several legacy security issues, the BNP was accused of hosting the leadership of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) in Dhaka, which gave Bangladesh-India relations under Khaleda Zia a strained reputation.

More serious, however, were allegations of links between some senior BNP figures and the extremist Jamaatul Mujahidin Bangladesh (JMB), led by Bangla Bhai. While the JMB was designated a terrorist organisation internationally, Ms. Zia refused to acknowledge the links between party leaders and the terror group. One U.S. Embassy cable referred to Mr. Rahman’s “steely nerves” for which he was being recognised inside the party and dubbed him “The Dark Prince”. “Tarique Rahman has the Zia name, political cunning,” one cable noted, describing him as a “uniquely polarizing figure in Bangladeshi politics” and “ruthless”. The U.S. Embassy predicted that Mr. Rahman was getting ready to contest the 2007 election, but cautioned that he would not command broad support within the party if Ms. Zia pressed too hard for her son to emerge as the next Prime Minister.

Mr. Rahman’s career plans were disrupted on January 11, 2007 when the army-backed interim government of President Iajuddin Ahmed declared emergency in Bangladesh. The emergency launched a major anti-corruption drive that targeted both Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia. It was, however, the treatment of Mr. Rahman by the officials that generated sympathy for him.

In 2009, during a meeting with a foreign diplomat in his London flat, Mr. Rahman said he had been tortured in custody, leaving him with a spinal injury that required prolonged medical treatment. Thereafter, he remained largely confined to London, looking after the BNP’s activities in the U.K., addressing supporters via video link and engaging with foreign diplomats and visiting politicians from his home. As Ms. Zia’s health declined, Mr. Rahman’s position within the party became increasingly clear, a status further consolidated by his backing of the BNP’s boycott of the 2014, 2018, and 2024 elections. The party insisted that polls be held under a caretaker government, accusing the Hasina regime of bias.

Key player

The welcome given to him has ensured that Mr. Rahman will be a major player, and possibly the prime ministerial candidate, in the next election. That prominence has also heightened his internal vulnerabilities and drawn greater attention from abroad. Ahead of his arrival, parties such as Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party had held rallies across the country. Yet, the scale of the crowds Mr. Rahman drew for his meetings at the July 36 Expressway, the Shaheed Minar and at the Sharif Osman Hadi memorial at the Dhaka University, has made those previous rallies pale in comparison.

His arrival has already shaken the established political equations in Bangladesh. The NCP’s Arshadul Haque resigned soon after Rahman’s arrival, citing his discomfort with its seat-sharing talks with Jamaat, and went on to endorse Mr. Rahman for his inclusive approach.

At the same time, friction has rocked the eight-party Islamist coalition over seat-sharing arrangements. Reports from Dhaka suggest that attacks by Islamist mobs — from the burning of newspaper offices to assaults on prominent cultural institutions such as Chhayanaut — have triggered a drift of leaders and voters towards the BNP.

However, it remains to be seen if Mr. Rahman can hold on to the momentum and turn it into a decisive victory.

Published – December 28, 2025 01:25 am IST

Muhammad Yunus, head of Bangladesh’s interim government.
| Photo Credit: AP

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Saturday (December 28, 2024) said that Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus’ suggestion to set the minimum voting age at 17 would put pressure on the Election Commission and could delay the election process.

Mr. Yunus, 84, who was sworn-in to lead the interim government after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August, on Friday suggested that the minimum voter age should be lowered to 17 years, The Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

Also Read | Just one election is not the goal of uprising, says Yunus’ adviser

In a video message played in an election dialogue, Mr. Yunus said, “To give their [youth] opinion on their own future, I think the voting age for them should be fixed at 17 years.”

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, during a discussion at the Jatiya Press Club here, said the chief adviser’s suggestion to lower the voting age to 17 means a new voter list would have to be prepared.

“Now, people will fear that even more time will be wasted and further delays will occur,” he was quoted as saying.

Mr. Alamgir said there is an impression among the people that the interim government is deliberately trying to delay the election process. “But that is not my perception,” he added.

The BNP leader said the chief adviser should not have raised the issue without first consulting the stakeholders.

“You are the chief executive, and you said that 17 years is better. When you say this, it becomes binding on the Election Commission,” he said.

Mr. Alamgir said the government should have left the matter to the Election Commission, allowing it to make a decision.

He said that the current minimum age of 18 for becoming a voter is acceptable to all.

Also Read | Bangladesh to hold elections in late 2025 or early 2026: Yunus

“If you want to reduce it by one year, then let the new Election Commission propose it and engage in discussions with the political parties,” the BNP leader said.

During his Victory Day speech on December 16, Mr. Yunus indicated that elections might be held by early 2026.

“Broadly speaking, the election can be scheduled between the end of 2025 and the first half of 2026,” he said.

Mr. Yunus said that the elections would be held after updating the voters’ list.

Activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party run from tear gas shell fired by police during a protest in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on October 28, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

The police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at huge crowds of Bangladesh Opposition supporters on Saturday to break up a giant protest against the Prime Minister, with one officer killed and scores of people injured in several hours of violent clashes in central Dhaka.

More than 1,00,000 supporters of two major Bangladesh Opposition parties rallied to demand Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina step down to allow a free and fair vote under a neutral government.

Live footage on the verified Facebook page of the main Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) showed thousands of people running for safety as sound grenades went off one after another and plumes of black smoke rose from the roads.

AFP correspondents said the violence spread in roads and alleys in the centre of the capital as police fired tear gas and rubber shotgun rounds, while the protesters threw stones and bricks.

One officer was killed and more than 100 injured, said Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesman Faruk Hossain, telling AFP: “The constable was hacked in the head by opposition activists.”

The protests by the BNP and the largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, were the biggest so far this year, AFP journalists on site said, and marked a new phase in their protests with a general election due within three months.

Sheikh Hasina — daughter of the country’s founding leader — has been in power for 15 years and has overseen rapid economic growth with Bangladesh overtaking neighbouring India in GDP per capita, but inflation has risen and her government is accused of corruption and human rights abuses.

At least 20 people were rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, the country’s largest, with wounds from rubber bullets, police inspector Bacchu Mia told AFP.

The clashes began in front of the city’s largest Catholic church when rowdy opposition supporters fought with sticks and allegedly torched a bus and a police post.

The BNP has called a nationwide strike on Sunday to protest the violence.

“Police and armed ruling party cadres attacked our peaceful rally,” party spokesman Zahir Uddin Swapan told AFP.

The resurgent Opposition has been mounting protests to press their demands for months, despite the BNP’s ailing leader Khaleda Zia, a two-time premier and old foe of Hasina’s, being effectively under house arrest after a conviction on corruption charges.

Hundreds of Opposition activists were detained in the days running up to the rally, officials confirmed, but her supporters poured into Dhaka on Saturday, crammed into buses despite checkpoints on roads into the capital, and even riding on top of packed trains.

“Vote thief, vote thief, Sheikh Hasina vote thief,” chanted the crowd at a demonstration in front of the BNP headquarters.

Student activist Sekandar Badsha, 24, from Chittagong, said: “We demand the immediate resignation of the Hasina government, release of our leader Khaleda Zia and establishing the people’s right to vote.”

At least 10,000 police had been deployed, officials said.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesman Hossain said that at least 100,000 people had joined the BNP rally, while up to 25,000 were at the Jamaat protest near the city’s main commercial district — which had been banned by police.

BNP spokesman Swapan told AFP that there were more than one million people at its rally, which he described as its “final call” for Hasina to resign.

If she does not step down voluntarily — widely seen as inconceivable — the party has threatened to call more aggressive protests such as strikes and blockades.

Western governments have expressed concern over the political climate in Bangladesh, where Hasina’s ruling Awami League dominates the legislature and runs it virtually as a rubber stamp.

Her security forces are accused of detaining tens of thousands of opposition activists, killing hundreds in extrajudicial encounters and disappearing hundreds of leaders and supporters.

Activists and onlookers gather outside the Bangladesh Nationalist Party headquarters in Dhaka on October 27, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Hundreds of Bangladeshi opposition activists have been arrested, police and party officials said Friday, ahead of a major rally where campaigners hope more than a million people will take to the streets of Dhaka.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its leftist allies, along with several Islamist outfits, have been mounting protests demanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina quit and let a neutral government oversee elections due by the end of January.

Hasina — daughter of the country’s founding leader — has been in power for 15 years and has overseen rapid economic growth with Bangladesh overtaking neighbouring India in GDP per capita, but her government is accused of corruption and human rights abuses.

The BNP has called a “grand rally” for Saturday, with party spokesman Zahir Uddin Swapan saying it expects “more than a million people” to turn out.

“A sea of people will join the protest,” he told AFP.

He said police had arrested at least 1,500 people including several senior BNP officials in the past four days in an effort to disrupt preparations.

“They have raided door to door and arrested people while they were holding meeting indoors,” he said.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) spokesman Faruk Hossain confirmed there had been detentions but rejected the figure, saying some 400 BNP activists and supporters had been held in the past week.

“We are arresting only those people who face cases or arrest warrants,” he told AFP.

Police have set up checkposts at entry points to the capital, Dhaka district police chief Mohammad Asaduzzaman told AFP, in what the opposition says is a tactic to prevent its activists entering the city.

Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, has also called a demonstration on Saturday, but DMP spokesman Faruk said authorities had banned the party from holding any protests.

“We’ll defy the ban and hold our protests peacefully, holding protests is our constitutional right,” said party spokesman Hamidur Rahman Azad, adding police had arrested more than 140 Jamaat activists over the past three days.

Western governments have expressed concern over the political climate in Bangladesh, where Hasina’s ruling Awami League dominates the legislature and runs it virtually as a rubber stamp.

Her security forces are accused of detaining tens of thousands of opposition activists, killing hundreds in extrajudicial encounters and disappearing hundreds of leaders and supporters.

The elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) security force and seven of its senior officers were sanctioned by Washington in 2021 in response to those alleged rights abuses.

The BNP’s ailing leader Khaleda Zia, a two-time premier and old foe of Hasina’s, is effectively under house arrest after a conviction on graft charges.