Bangladesh Elections: The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was ahead of the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami, according to early trends, as counting continued after key national elections were held in Bangladesh on Thursday.
The election was the first since the overthrow of a student-led uprising in 2024 Sheikh Hasina after fifteen years of Awami League rule. Final numbers could be known by Friday, officials said.
The election was a direct contest between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by Tariq Rahman and a coalition of 11 parties led by resurgent Jamaat-e-Islami party chief Shafiqur Rahman.
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The BNP led with 131 seats, approaching half of the 151 in the 300-member legislature, according to a Reuters report. The candidate is one of the seats that died and hence the election was held for 299 seats with 150 as the majority mark.
Rahman has emerged as the frontrunner for the post of prime minister in most opinion polls. Rahman was ahead in both the Dhaka and Bogura constituencies he contested on Thursday evening, according to early trends.
Who is Tariq Rahman?
Tarique Rahman, 60, Bangladesh prime ministerial hopeful, son of BNP supremo and former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
Rahman returned to Bangladesh to contest the December 2025 elections, after more than 17 years of self-imposed exile in London. He took over the leadership of the BNP from his mother Khaleda Zia, a giant of Bangladeshi politics and a long-time political enemy of Hasina. Zia died just five days after Rahman returned home in December.
Rahman’s time in self-imposed exile in London, where he lived in the suburbs of Kingston with his wife and daughter, softened him, according to associates, according to one of his Guardian profiles.
He left Bangladesh in 2008
Rahman left Bangladesh for London in 2008 after what he described as political persecution.
At the time, Tarique was facing trial on a slew of graft charges.
He left a note at the airport: “I, Tariq Rahman, I hereby declare that as of today, September 11, 2008, I am resigning from the position of Senior Joint General Secretary of the BNP and thereby retiring from active politics.”
Tarique was jailed in 2007 as part of an anti-corruption drive by the military-backed interim government, on charges he denies. He was released in 2008 to seek medical treatment in London after being tortured so badly in prison that he was taken on a plane in a wheelchair.
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During Hasina’s subsequent 15-year rule, he was convicted on charges of terror and corruption, which he said were politically motivated to keep him out of Bangladesh. In 2024, after Hasin’s downfall, the courts overturned his conviction and eventually freed him to return home.
Tarique Ahmad Family Details and Education
Rahman was born on 20 November 1965 in Dacca, East Pakistan, now Dhaka, Bangladesh. His parents came from a notable Bengali Muslim mandal family hailing from Bagbari in Gabtali, Bogra district.
Tarique’s father, Ziaur Rahman, was a Pakistani military officer who later became the recipient of Bir Utto and the President of Bangladesh. His mother Khaleda Zia was a housewife who later became the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
Rahman began his education at BAF Shaheen College in Dhaka.
After completing his secondary and higher secondary education, he was first admitted to the Faculty of Law, University of Dhaka in the academic year 1985-86, then changed his department and enrolled in the Department of International Relations. However, he left during his second year of study and started a business in the textile industry and the shipping industry.
She rose to prominence in her mother’s shadow
Rahman started his political career as a senior member of BNP upazila branch in Gabtali, Bogra in 1988.
Rahman was active in BNP campaigns during the 1991 national elections in constituencies where his mother Khaleda Zia contested. This was the time of Bangladesh’s transition from a military government to an elected government.
After the BNP’s victory in the 1991 national elections, Rahman continued to be involved in party activities in Bogra. During the 1996 national election, he did not contest any parliamentary seat and instead coordinated campaigns for constituencies contested by his mother.
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Rahman rose to prominence in the BNP during his mother’s tenure as prime minister in the early 2000s. Between 1996 and 2001, during the tenure of the Awami League government, Rahman was involved in opposition political activities. In the 2001 national elections, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party won a two-thirds majority.
Although Rahman did not hold an official role under the previous regime, he was seen as a person of undue influence and was described as a “symbol of kleptocratic rule” in a leaked 2008 diplomatic cable.
On 8 December 2009, Rahman was elected as the senior vice-chairman of the BNP at the 5th National Council held in Dhaka. After the fall of Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, Rahman pledged to return to Bangladesh once the cases against him were dropped. He also pledged to support the reform process of the interim government.
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On 13 June 2025, Rahman met Bangladesh’s Chief Counsel Muhammad Yunus, who was visiting the United Kingdom. On 25 December 2025, Rahman along with his wife Zubaida Rahman and daughter Zaima Rahman returned to Bangladesh, ending his exile since 2008. Five days later, Rahman’s mother Khaleda Zia died after a long illness. On 9 January 2026, Rahman became the chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
I, Tarique Rahman, hereby declare that with effect from today, September 11, 2008, I resign as Senior Joint Secretary General of the BNP and hereby retire from active politics.
During his campaign, Rahman positioned himself as a voice for economic recovery, stability and the restoration of democracy in a country ruled by the ousted Hasina for 15 years. And if the trends continue, BNP will win the elections and Rahman is going to be the next prime minister of Bangladesh from the Zia family.
Key things
- The return of Tarique Rahman marks a significant shift in Bangladesh’s political scene.
- His leadership is seen as key to reviving the BNP after years of political turmoil.
- Rahman’s narrative of political persecution resonates with many voters and increases his appeal.