Tarique Rahman to End 17-Year Self-Exile, Return to Bangladesh on December 25

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) announced on Friday that its Acting Chairman, Tarique Rahman, will return to Dhaka on December 25, ending 17 years of self-exile in London.

The announcement was made by BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir following a meeting of the party’s policymaking standing committee. "We are pleased to announce that our Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman will return to Dhaka on 25 December," Alamgir told reporters, adding that the party "welcomes him."

The announcement came a day after Rahman's mother, former Prime Minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, 80, was placed on elective ventilator support at Dhaka's Evercare Hospital. Zia has been undergoing treatment for multiple health complications since November 23. The hospital stated that the ventilator support was intended to rest her lungs and other vital organs. Rahman has been steering the party from London via virtual platforms, citing "obscure reasons" for his inability to return home to be with his ailing mother.

The news also follows the Election Commission’s declaration on Thursday that Bangladesh’s 13th parliamentary elections will be held on February 12. Rahman’s return is expected to energize the BNP's election campaign. Despite his absence, he has served as the party's de facto leader. The BNP has previously stated that if Khaleda Zia is deemed physically unfit, Tarique Rahman would be the party's candidate for Prime Minister should they win the upcoming polls.

The BNP has seen a dramatic shift in its political fortunes. The party has re-emerged as a frontrunner in Bangladesh's political landscape following a student-led, violent street protest that led to the collapse of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024. Rahman's return is poised to solidify his leadership and influence the trajectory of the party in the lead-up to the crucial February elections.