Tarique Rahman: From17-year exile to landslide win in Bangladesh election 

Less than ⁠two months after returning from 17 years of self-imposed exile in London, Tarique Rahman has won one of Bangladesh’s most pivotal elections and is set to become prime minister, leading the country as his parents once did.

A coalition led by his Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won a decisive two-thirds majority in the parliamentary election, according to the results published in the official gazette of the Bangladesh Election Commission.

On Saturday, Rahman addressed the country during a press conference, calling for unity and dedicating his sweeping win to those who “sacrificed for democracy”.

“I firmly believe that national unity is a collective strength, while division is a weakness.”

The result is expected to bring stability after months of turmoil following the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a Gen Z-led uprising in 2024, during which security forces killed hundreds on her orders. She has since been sentenced to death in absentia.

Hasina, now in exile in New Delhi, and Rahman’s mother, Khaleda Zia, long dominated Bangladeshi politics, while Rahman’s father was a leading Bangladesh independence figure who ruled the country from 1977 to 1981 before he was assassinated.

Thursday’s election marked a remarkable reversal of fortune for Rahman, who left the country in 2008, saying he needed medical treatment after his arrest during a military-backed caretaker administration’s crackdown on alleged corruption.

The soft-spoken 60-year-old ⁠BNP leader returned home to a hero’s welcome last Christmas with his cardiologist wife and barrister daughter, and took over the party’s command as chairman after the death of his mother five days later.

During the election campaign, Rahman pledged to recalibrate Bangladesh’s international partnerships to attract investment without tying the country too closely to any single power, in contrast with Hasina, who was seen as ‌aligned with New Delhi.

He has also highlighted expanding financial aid for poor families, reducing reliance on garment exports by promoting industries such as toys and leather goods, and introducing a two-term, 10-year limit for prime ministers to deter autocratic tendencies.

Rezaul Karim Rony, a Dhaka-based political analyst, described the BNP’s landslide win as a “victory of a democratic, moderate force”.

“The challenge now is to ensure good governance, law and order, and public safety, and to establish a rights-based state, which was at the heart of the aspirations of the 2024 mass uprising,” he told Al Jazeera.

Rony said the job ahead for Rahman is moving away from cadre-based politics towards a rights-based system that reflects younger generations’ desire for a more inclusive governance.

“The task now is to build a state based on that spirit – ensuring the rule of law, human dignity and employment opportunities,” he said. “The question now is how Tarique Rahman will confront this responsibility.”

The bespectacled Rahman was born on November 20, 1965, in Dhaka to Khaleda and former President Ziaur Rahman, the founder of the BNP. He studied international relations at the University of Dhaka, dropped out, and later started businesses in ⁠textiles and agro-products.

After his return, Rahman tried to project himself as a statesman ready to look beyond his family’s difficulties ⁠under Hasina, and get rid of the image of a brash operator from the BNP’s 2001–2006 era, when his mother was prime minister.

Although he never held a government post, Rahman was often accused of running a parallel power centre during her tenure, a charge he denies.

“What does revenge bring to someone? People have to flee from this country because of revenge. This does not bring anything good,” he recently said. “What we need ⁠at the moment in the country is peace and stability.”

Under Hasina’s rule, Rahman became a central target of corruption cases and was convicted in absentia in several of them. In 2018, he was also sentenced to life over a 2004 grenade attack on ⁠a rally Hasina was addressing that killed and wounded many. He has always denied the allegations, calling ⁠them politically motivated, and has since been acquitted in all cases following Hasina’s ouster.

From London, he had watched his party marginalised election after election, with senior leaders jailed, workers disappeared, and offices shuttered.

Since his return, Rahman has adopted a noticeably understated style, avoiding inflammatory rhetoric and calling instead for restraint and reconciliation. He has spoken of restoring “people’s ownership of the state” and rebuilding institutions – a message that has energised BNP supporters eager for a ‌fresh start.

Inside the BNP, Rahman’s grip on the party is strong. Party insiders said he directly oversaw candidate selection, strategy and alliance talks, roles he once performed ‌remotely.

He ‌may be a product of dynastic politics, but Rahman said restoring and sustaining democracy would be his biggest priority.

“Only by practising democracy can we prosper and rebuild our country. If we practise democracy, we can establish accountability,” he said. “So we want to practise democracy, we want to rebuild our country.”

Reporting from Dhaka, Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull said since his return, Rahman has become “a pretty ubiquitous figure”, who made “lots of big promises about restoring law and order, rebuilding infrastructure and healthcare”.

“He has made big promises, notably on corruption, especially for a party tainted with corruption itself in the past. Rahman is promising a top-down, no-tolerance approach to corruption, and a new era of clean politics in Bangladesh.”

As he prepared on Saturday to take the reigns of power in the country, Rahman said the new government he will lead faces daunting challenges.

“We have paved the way for the establishment of democracy in the country,” he added.

“We are about to begin our journey in a situation marked by a fragile economy left behind by an authoritarian regime, weakening constitutional and structural institutions and destroying law and order.”