Tarique Rahman Plans Return to Contest February Election

Tarique Rahman, acting chairman and de facto leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), told BBC Bangla he will return soon from long-term self-exile in London to contest the upcoming February national election. He said he will try to be in Bangladesh during voting and that any question of becoming prime minister would be decided by voters. Rahman left Bangladesh in 2008 amid legal cases and accusations related to a 2004 grenade attack; some convictions tied to those cases were later overturned after the 2024 uprising that toppled Sheikh Hasina. BNP leaders say they will contest the first post‑uprising polls collectively with allied parties, are promoting a 31‑point state‑reform agenda, and have shifted to accept a referendum to enshrine the interim government's "July Declaration" in the constitution. It remains unclear whether his ailing mother and former prime minister Khaleda Zia will run again or play an active guiding role behind him.