Bangladesh’s leader sees top prime ministerial candidate return from exile ahead of polls

• Rahman’s return energizes BNP supporters for the February elections.
• Rahman was cleared of corruption charges after Hasina’s ouster.
• Media attacks and violence fuel fears of peaceful vote.
  

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) incumbent Tariq Rahman returned to Dhaka on Thursday after nearly 17 years in exile, a return the party hopes will energize supporters with Rahman as the main contender for prime minister in the February 12 election.

Hundreds of thousands of supporters lined the route from the capital’s airport to the reception venue, waving party flags and holding placards, banners and flowers while chanting slogans welcoming Rahman as senior BNP leaders received him at Dhaka airport amid tight security.

Rahman, 60, the son of ailing former prime minister Khaleda Zia, has lived in London since 2008 and has led the BNP as deputy president since 2018.

Dressed in a light grey, thin checkered jacket over a crisp white shirt, Rahman waved to the crowd with a soft smile.

He was unable to return while dealing with several criminal cases at home. Rahman was convicted in absentia on charges including money laundering and a case related to an alleged plot to assassinate former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, but the verdicts were overturned after Hasina was ousted last year in a student-led uprising, clearing legal hurdles to his return.

His return home also brings personal urgency, with Khaleda Zia seriously ill for months. Party officials said Rahman would travel from the airport to a reception area before visiting his mother.

The political landscape has changed sharply since Hasina was removed from power, ending decades in which she and Khaleda Zia largely alternated in power. A December survey by the US-based International Republican Institute showed the BNP on course to win the largest number of parliamentary seats, with the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami also in the race.

Hasina’s Awami League party, which has been banned from the election, has threatened unrest that some fear could disrupt the vote.

Bangladesh heads to the polls under the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. While authorities have pledged free and peaceful elections, recent media attacks and sporadic violence have raised concerns, making Rahman’s return a defining moment for the BNP and the country’s fragile political transition.