BNP leader Tarique Rahman returns: Who is Bangladesh’s potential next PM?

BNP leader Tarique Rahman returns: Who is Bangladesh’s potential next PM? After 17 years in exile, the ‘prince’ of Bangladesh politics returns to Dhaka. Can he bring the BNP back to power, too? After 17 years in exile, Tarique Rahman, leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and frontrunner to be the South Asian nation’s next prime minister, returned to Dhaka on Thursday to a rousing welcome by thousands of his party’s supporters. Rahman, long seen as a prince of Bangladeshi politics, got down at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, alongside his wife Zubaida and daughter Zaima, and stood barefoot on Bangladeshi soil amid heavy security. Rahman’s symbolic gestures marking his return to Bangladesh come at a crucial juncture in the country’s politics, and represent a major shot in the arm to the BNP cadre and leaders. An interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has been in power since August 2024, following the ouster of then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a student-led uprising. The Yunus administration has announced elections on February 12, after which it is to peacefully transfer power to an elected government. Rahman’s mother, the former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, has been hospitalised in a critical condition since November 23. As the de facto leader of the BNP, Bangladesh’s largest political party, Rahman might be holding the nation’s reins soon. So, here’s everything you need to know about him, his life in exile and the significance of his return for the South Asian nation. Who is Rahman? Rahman, 60, is the eldest son of former Bangladesh President Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia, who in 1991 became the country’s first female prime minister. Rahman has lived in London since 2008 and has led the BNP as acting chairman since 2018, when his ailing mother, Zia, was jailed under the rule of her political rival and then prime minister, Hasina. He became a major public figure during his mother’s second term in power, from 2001 to 2006. But he also drew allegations of cronyism, corruption and political violence. A military-backed caretaker government that held office between 2006 and early 2009 investigated those allegations. In March 2007, he was arrested by army units that dramatically pulled up outside his luxury Dhaka house late at night. Months later, he was released on bail and flew to the United Kingdom for medical treatment - not returning until Thursday. Rahman and the BNP have consistently described the accusations against him as politically motivated, but his reputation for corruption extended beyond his political opponents. Rahman’s name popped up in leaked diplomatic cables, published by WikiLeaks in 2011, where American diplomat James F Moriarty described him as a symbol of “kleptocratic government and violent politics”. Recommending blocking his entry into the United States, the American embassy in Dhaka wrote: “In short, much of what is wrong in Bangladesh can be blamed on Tarique and his cronies.” He was subsequently convicted by the Awami League government on charges of money laundering, fraud and...

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