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Tarique Rahman, the president of Bangladesh Nationalist Party has said that his enactment volition not clasp a triumph rally arsenic helium appears poised for a historical triumph in the important predetermination of 2026. Mr. Rahman won 2 seats— Dhaka-17 and Bogura-6 constitutuencies making a striking governmental debut successful Bangladesh’s history. Mr. Rahman’s satellite is acceptable to alteration and it has taken hardly 2 months for that to happen. He stepped retired out of the wood paneled VVIP arrival lounge of the Hazrat Shah Jalal International Airport connected December 25 2025, and took to the small grassy spot adjacent to the car parkland and took disconnected his shoes and stepped connected the ground.
It was a motion that helium had present reconnected with the onshore of his commencement and had yet got himself the governmental motorboat that helium was denied erstwhile Bangladesh spiraled into governmental uncertainty successful precocious 2006 which prevented him from contesting his archetypal parliamentary election. In the code delivered aft returning from London, helium struck an inclusive code calling for inter-communal and inter-ethnic harmony successful Bangladesh and with an oculus to his governmental enemies, got down to dismantling immoderate of the allegations that BNP’s opponents, particularly the deposed Awami League had leveled against the party.
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During the play from 2009-’24, Sheikh Hasina had repeatedly described the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Tarique’s parent Khaleda Zia arsenic pro-Pakistan. Ms. Hasina’s disapproval was relentless and Mr. Tarique successful his code made it a constituent to code the allegation first. In the code delivered successful 36 July Expressway, Mr. Tarique invoked BNP’s transportation to the liberation warfare of 1971 and the November 7, 1971 governmental improvement that brought his precocious begetter General Ziaur Rahman to de facto power. In the process, Mr. Tarique showed that similar Ms. Hasina who played connected the communicative of her father, helium excessively would physique connected the legends of his begetter General Ziaur Rahman who began arsenic a worker successful the Pakistan service and fought against India successful 1965 warfare but defected from the Pakistan subject and declared independency of East Pakistan hours aft the Pakistan subject launched Operation Searchlight connected March 25, 1971. In keeping with the tradition, the predetermination run of BNP focused connected owning some the spirits of the Liberation War of 1971 arsenic good arsenic the anti-Sheikh Hasina question of July-August 2024.
With his run speeches, Mr. Rahman has showed that this time, helium has travel acceptable with an alternate imaginativeness for Bangladesh wherever the earlier regime’s iconography volition beryllium challenged by the icons of BNP.
The millions of radical who greeted him connected December 25 arsenic good arsenic connected December 26 mightiness person fixed him a creaseless accomplishment but the effect of the predetermination is bound to make a large situation for Mr. Rahman successful the coming days arsenic the Jamaat-e-Islami has emerged arsenic the 2nd largest enactment successful Bangladesh’s Jatiyo Sansad with the 11-party confederation nether Jamaat’s enactment getting astatine slightest 71 seats – a historical improvement connected its own. Two months ago, Jamaat-e-Islami’s main Shafiqur Rahman had said that his party, the largest Islamist enactment of Bangladesh would “keep an eye” connected Mr. Rahman. The remark was peculiarly important that by talking astir inclusion, Mr. Rahman had conveyed that this clip around, dissimilar his past stint that ended successful 2007, helium volition travel a antithetic trajectory.
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The governmental trajectory of Mr. Rahman was shaped by the traumatic memories of his childhood. On May 29 1981, erstwhile Mr. Rahman was successful his teens, his begetter General Rahman near for the larboard metropolis of Chittagong for an unscheduled visit. A time later, helium was changeable and killed successful an attempted coup that lasted lone 3 days. General Zia’s mortal remains were brought backmost to Dhaka and helium was fixed a burial successful beforehand of the Parliament. The play aft the brutal assassination of General Zia , BNP was energetically led by Khaleda Zia who often wore achromatic and teamed up with arc force Sheikh Hasina to situation subject dictator Hossein Mohammed Ershad who was overthrown successful the 1990 protest. Khaleda Zia became the archetypal pistillate Prime Minister of Bangladesh by winning predetermination held in 1991. Mr. Tarique Rahman started his ceremonial governmental travel connected June 22, 2002 erstwhile BNP appointed him arsenic the archetypal associated secretary.
During this time, Mr. Tarique Rahman earned a sanction for himself which recovered notation successful the cables of the U.S. Embassy successful Dhaka that were released by Wikileaks successful 2005. The 2nd coming of Khaleda Zia had coincided with the U.S. warfare connected panic that played retired successful Af-Pak and importantly impacted the remainder of South Asia. Amidst respective bequest information issues, the BNP was besides accused of hosting the ULFA enactment successful Dhaka which gave Bangladesh-India narration nether Khaleda Zia a hard reputation. But the much superior issues that BNP faced came from the allegation of links betwixt immoderate of the apical figures of BNP and the extremist Jamaatul Mujahidin Bangladesh led by Bangla Bhai. While JMB was branded a violent organisation internationally, Khaleda refused to recognise the links that were reported betwixt a fewer leaders of her enactment and the panic group. The U.S. Embassy cablegram refers to Mr. Tarique Rahman’s “steely nerves” for which helium was being recognised wrong the enactment and refers to him arsenic “The Dark Prince”. “Tarique Rahman has the Zia name, governmental cunning,” said a cablegram which referred to him arsenic a “uniquely polarizing fig successful Bangladeshi politics” and “ruthless”. The U.S. embassy had predicted that Mr. Tarique Rahman was getting acceptable to contention the 2007 election, but cautioned that helium would not get that benignant of enactment wrong the enactment if Khaleda Zia pushed hard to for her lad to win arsenic the adjacent Prime Minister.
In his homecoming speech, Mr. Tarique Rahman referred to the military-backed interim authorities of President Iazuddin Ahmed who connected January 11, 2007 declared exigency successful Bangladesh arsenic an “international conspiracy”. The exigency launched a large anti-corruption thrust that targeted some Sheikh Hasina arsenic good arsenic Khaleda Zia. It was nevertheless the attraction of Mr. Tarique Rahman successful the hands of the officials successful Bangladesh that generated sympathy for him.
Meeting a overseas diplomat who had visited him successful his London level successful 2009, Mr. Rahman had said that helium was tortured successful custody that near him with a spinal wounded that required attention. Thereafter Mr. Rahman remained restricted to London, looking aft the works of BNP successful the U.K. and talking to his followers done video nexus portion gathering overseas diplomats and visiting politicians from home. With the diminution successful the wellness of Khaleda Zia, Mr. Tarique’s spot successful the enactment progressively became wide which was further firmed up arsenic helium supported boycott of 2014, 2018 2024 elections arsenic it had demanded that polls should beryllium held nether a caretaker authorities accusing the Hasina authorities of being biased
The spectacular invited fixed to him has ensured that Mr. Tarique Rahman volition beryllium a large subordinate and successful the lack of his parent Khaleda Zia the predetermination has fixed him a wide mandate to instrumentality implicit arsenic the Prime Minister. Post-poll designation is already pouring in. Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has congratulated him and the United States has besides reached out.
In this backdrop his handling of planetary issues and particularly India’s concerns volition beryllium watched keenly. One of the large items that volition necessitate his contiguous attraction is the instrumentality and bid concern arsenic good arsenic the dialog for the Ganga Waters Agreement that volition person to beryllium negotiated for a renewal aboriginal this year. There were fears that the amusement of nationalist enactment that was connected show connected December 25 2025 and subsequently connected the passing distant of Khaleda Zia, had fizzled out, but the predetermination triumph with astir 218 seats has shown that his enactment has received an implicit bulk successful the Jatiyo Sansad. However the coming weeks are going to beryllium challenging arsenic BNP volition person to woody with the affirmative result to the referendum connected ‘July Charter’ that requires BNP to alteration the constitution of Bangladesh that envisages creating a little almighty station of Prime Minister and transportation immoderate of the powers of the enforcement powers of the PM to the President’s office. It remains to beryllium seen however Rahman volition negociate with the resurgent Jamaat-e-Islami and students-led enactment NCP regarding the referendum’s effect portion helium settles down to govern.
