Bangladesh’s Parliament convened on Thursday (March 12, 2026) for the first time since a deadly 2024 uprising plunged the country into political turmoil and following elections last month.

The government of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), took over after February 12 elections from the interim administration that had led the country of 170 million people since August 2024.

“After more than a decade and a half of fascist and subservient rule, the activities of Parliament are beginning today with representatives elected by the people,” Mr. Rahman told Parliament.

“The BNP wants to build a prosperous, safe and democratic country,” he added, calling on all lawmakers, whatever their political opinions, to work together.

Mr. Rahman blamed the toppled government of Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League party for undermining the previous Parliament.

Sheikh Hasina, 78, who has been sentenced in absentia to death for crimes against humanity, is in self-imposed exile in India.

“The fallen dictatorship made Parliament dysfunctional, instead of making it the centre of all national activities,” Mr. Rahman said, promising it would change under his watch.

“We will make Parliament the centre of all debates and arguments aimed at resolving the country’s problems.”

They include tackling a sluggish economy, restoring stability and reviving growth after months of turmoil that rattled investor confidence and strained state finances.

The world’s second largest garment exporter, heavily dependent on fossil fuel imports, has also been hit hard by an oil price spike caused by the war in the Middle East. Mr. Rahman’s appeal for unity is a bid to heal rifts in a country polarised by years of bitter rivalry.

A new speaker, Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, and his Deputy, Kayser Kamal, were elected to office. Both are members of the BNP. The Parliament building was looted during the August 2024 uprising against Ms. Hasina, but has since been repaired. The BNP-led alliance secured 212 seats, while the BNP alone won 209 seats.

The leader of the Opposition is Shafiqur Rahman, who heads the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance with 76 seats, with Jamaat alone holding 68.

Four candidates from minority communities, including two Hindus, won in the recent general elections in Bangladesh, with all being nominees of the BNP, which is set to form the government on Tuesday (February 17, 2026).

Goyeshwar Chandra Roy and Nitai Roy Chowdhury are the two Hindu candidates who won on a Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) ticket. They won from a Dhaka seat and the western Magura constituency, defeating their rivals fielded by the Jamaat-e-Islami.

Mr. Roy is a member of the BNP’s highest policy-making standing committee, while Mr. Chowdhury is one of the prominent vice presidents of the party as well as a senior advisor and strategist for its top leadership.

The third minority MP-elect is Saching Pru, a senior BNP leader and follower of the Buddhist faith, representing the Marma ethnic community in southeastern hill district of Bandarban, from where he was elected.

The fourth minority candidate, Dipen Dewan, belongs to the Buddhist majority Chakma ethnic minority group, who won from a constituency in southeastern Rangamati hill district.

However, his religious identity is obscure with many describing him as a Hindu.

Hindus make up about 8% of the population in the Muslim-majority country of 170 million people.

Mr. Dewan defeated an independent Chakma candidate as his nearest rival, while Mr. Pru defeated a nominee of the student-led National Citizen Party, which was formed last year by the Students Against Discrimination, which led the mass protests against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.

According to the Election Commission, 79 candidates, including 10 women from religious minority communities, mostly Hindus, contested the election on Thursday (February 12, 2026). While 67 were nominated by 22 political parties, 12 ran as independent candidates.

The Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) fielded the highest number with 17 minority candidates.

It was followed by left-leaning Bangladesh Samyabadi Dal (BSD) with eight minority candidates, little-known Bangladesh Minority Janata Party (BMJP) with eight candidates and left-leaning Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal (BASOD) with seven candidates.

The BNP fielded six candidates and Jatiya Party nominated four candidates.

The Jamaat-e-Islami nominated a minority Hindu candidate for the first time in its history.

The largest Islamist party fielded veteran businessman Krishna Nandi from a southwestern Khulna constituency who lost but his participation as a Jamaat nominee was widely discussed. He finished as the runner-up in the Khulna-1 constituency conceding defeat to a BNP candidate.

The number of Hindu MPs in the 2024 election was 17 and the same number of Hindus won in the 2018 election with most of them belonging to Hasina’s Awami League.

Led by Tarique Rahman, the BNP swept to power with a two-thirds majority with 49.97% votes and 212 seats in Thursday’s (February 12, 2026) polls, results for which were declared on Friday (February 13, 2026).

The Jamaat-e-Islami, which was opposed to the country’s 1971 independence from Pakistan, registered its best-ever performance with 31.76% votes and 68 seats. The National Citizen Party (NCP) secured the third-highest number of seats, six, and 3.05% votes.