Tarique Rahman: Meet Sheikh Hasina’s arch rival’s son who is set to govern Bangladesh after BNP’s huge victory
Local television recordings showed the BNP-led coalition winning 209 of the 300 seats in the Jatiya Sangsad; It was a decisive mandate in a vote largely crucial to restoring stability after months of unrest.
The election marked a historic break in the long-standing dominance of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was barred from contesting in 2024 after the Awami League was ousted during Gen Z-led protests. Turnout appeared likely to surpass the previous national vote, with more than 2,000 candidates and dozens of parties vying for seats in what observers described as Bangladesh’s most competitive election in years.
For the BNP, the outcome is about much more than securing parliamentary control; It charts the political rise of Tarique Rahman, seen as the heir to a dynasty that has shaped Bangladesh’s power struggles for three decades.
Also read: Bangladesh’s BNP wins thumping victory in historic parliamentary elections
Who is Tarique Rahman?
Rahman, now 60, is the elder son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia and the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, a post he has held for years since his self-exile in London after leaving Bangladesh for medical treatment amid mounting legal and political pressure in 2008.
Corruption cases and multiple convictions, including charges related to an alleged assassination plot against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, had long blocked his return and kept him physically distant from the country’s turbulent politics, although he remained at the center of BNP strategy.
But last year, Bangladesh’s supreme judiciary quashed or dismissed the most important cases against him, including those linked to the 2004 bombing and corruption allegations.
The decisions abolished the legal structure that had kept him abroad for more than 17 years and paved the way for a dramatic political homecoming. His return just weeks before national elections injected fresh energy into the BNP ranks, transforming what had been an opposition campaign into a narrative of leadership restoration centered on dynastic continuity and political revival.
Rahman’s influence extends beyond symbolism. During his years in exile, he served as the party’s de facto decision-maker, shaping alliances and shaping messaging and organizational strategy from afar; Meanwhile, his mother’s health condition gradually shifted authority to her.
When she finally stepped back on Bangladeshi soil, supporters framed the moment as the culmination of a long political interregnum, casting her not only as the heir apparent to Khaleda Zia but also as a figure who would redefine BNP rule in the post-Hasina era.
As reported by ET in December, party loyalists increasingly viewed him as the undisputed leader and incumbent prime minister should the BNP secure a governing majority.
Also read: Tarique Rahman finally steps into the limelight as Bangladesh Prime Minister
Khaleda Zia’s exiled son will take throne
Bangladesh’s modern politics has long revolved around the rivalry between Khaleda Zia and Hasina. With Zia aged and in fragile health, the BNP increasingly looked to Rahman to take over both the leadership and the legacy.
The party’s landslide victory now puts it on the brink of national leadership. Campaign promises focused on economic recovery, anti-corruption efforts, prime ministerial term limits, and financial support for poorer households; an agenda that aims to signal both reform and continuity after years of political turmoil.
Rival Jamaat-e-Islami, which led the main opposition alliance in the vote, conceded defeat and underlined the BNP’s mandate by promising “positive politics”. A youth-focused party born out of anti-Hasina protests won only a handful of seats; This underlined how decidedly voters have consolidated around the BNP.
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Sheikh Hasina refuses to accept defeat
Hasina, who is currently in self-imposed exile in India, has rejected the election result and described the process as a “carefully planned farce” carried out without real participation from her party’s supporters. He demanded the annulment of the vote, which he described as illegal and unconstitutional, and called for new elections under a neutral interim administration.
His absence also reshaped regional geopolitics. Strained relations with India and the possibility of China expanding its influence form part of the broader strategic backdrop against which Bangladesh’s leadership transition is unfolding.
But on the streets of Dhaka and across the country, the BNP’s victory is being read less as a geopolitical turning point and more as the closing chapter of the Hasina era and the opening act of Tarique Rahman’s long-awaited rise to power.
