Tarique Rahman Set to Make Landmark Homecoming

Bangladesh’s main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), is preparing a massive rally in Dhaka as its acting chairman Tarique Rahman readies his return home after nearly 17 years in exile.

The BNP says it plans to mobilise as many as five million supporters to welcome Rahman, widely regarded as the party’s prime ministerial frontrunner, ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for February. Rahman will arrive from London on Thursday.

Party leaders say his return marks a turning point as the BNP gains momentum following the removal of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina during a student-led uprising last year.

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Tarique Rahman: Opposition party eyes electoral momentum as exiled leader returns

Rahman, 60, the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, currently leads the party as its acting chairman. Since 1991, political power in Bangladesh has largely alternated between Khaleda Zia and Hasina, aside from brief caretaker governments. With Hasina’s Awami League barred from contesting the February 12 election, the BNP now appears poised to dominate the race.

BNP leaders are coordinating security arrangements with authorities for what they describe as an unprecedented show of support, with thousands expected to line the route from the airport to the rally venue.

“This will be a defining political moment,” senior BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said.

Rahman has lived in London since 2008 after facing multiple criminal convictions in Bangladesh, including money-laundering and allegations linked to a plot to assassinate Hasina. Courts cleared Rahman of the charges after authorities removed Hasina from office, paving the way for his long-delayed return.

BNP officials said Rahman will head straight from the airport to the rally before visiting his mother, who has been seriously ill for months.

His return comes during a fragile political transition overseen by an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. Observers widely see the February election as a key test of Bangladesh’s efforts to restore democratic legitimacy after years of unrest.

Concerns remain over sporadic violence and recent attacks on media organisations, raising questions about the state’s ability to ensure a credible vote.

The National Citizen Party (NCP), which emerged from the youth protest movement that toppled Hasina, welcomed Rahman’s return, calling it a symbolically significant moment in the country’s democratic journey.

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