Tarique Rahman named for Bogura-6 in his election debut

The BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman has been announced as the party's candidate for Bogura-6 in the upcoming national election, scheduled to be held in February 2026.

Tarique, who has lived in exile in the United Kingdom for 17 years, is expected to return in mid-November, marking his first major political reappearance in nearly two decades.

"After many ifs and buts, it is now clear that our leader is eager to come back home in mid-November. He may travel to Dhaka from London between 10 and 20 November," an adviser close to Tarique had earlier told The Business Standard.

During his years of exile, Tarique has been living in Kingston, a south-western suburb of London. 

His expected return comes in the aftermath of the 2024 mass uprising, which reshaped Bangladesh's political landscape and rekindled hopes among BNP supporters of a revived leadership.

In recent months, Tarique has reemerged on the international stage through interviews with BBC Bangla, the Financial Times, and other global media outlets – his first formal media engagements since leaving the country.

For the first time in nearly twenty years, Tarique spoke openly about his plans to return home and lead his party into the upcoming elections. Speaking to the BBC, he had earlier said, "I am physically here [in the UK], but mentally I have always remained in Bangladesh."

He had credited the people of Bangladesh, not any political faction, as the driving force behind the July Uprising, saying, "The mastermind of the July movement was not any party or individual; it was the democracy-loving people of Bangladesh."

Addressing questions about the BNP's controversial record during its 2001–2006 tenure, Tarique argued that much of Transparency International's criticism at the time was rooted in the legacy of the previous Awami League government. "We may not have been able to fix it completely," he said, "but we have to understand the reality—corruption has become a social disorder."

In his Financial Times interview, Tarique acknowledged that "any government has some flaws" but defended BNP's overall governance record. He pointed out that it was under the BNP government that the Anti-Corruption Commission was established, while dismissing what he described as "false narratives" about the party's past.

Tarique's emotional reflections on his family's suffering – his mother Khaleda Zia's illness, his brother's death, and his own experience of torture – offered a rare personal dimension to a figure often perceived as distant and privileged.

"Politics is not family-based," he asserted. "It is based on support." The statement served as a subtle retort to critics who accuse him of continuing a dynastic legacy. Yet his own political authority, inherited through the lineage of Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia, remains emblematic of the tradition he seeks to redefine.

As the BNP prepares for a high-stakes election, Tarique has vowed to confront the corruption, militancy, and cronyism that plagued the party's last administration.

Amid the uncertainties and contradictions surrounding his comeback, Tarique Rahman has reintroduced a long-absent voice into Bangladesh's political conversation.