On December 25th, around 12:00 PM, Tarique Rahman stepped onto the tarmac at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka. He had returned to Bangladesh from London after 17 years. Thousands of workers of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) welcomed him like a prospective Prime Minister. Exactly 49 days from now, on February 12th, general elections will be held in Bangladesh, and the BNP is considered a strong contender. Hello, I’m Aditya. Who is Tarique Rahman? Can he become the new Prime Minister of Bangladesh? And what will be its impact on India? We will find out in today’s episode. Tarique Rahman, considered the crown prince of Bangladeshi politics, is the eldest son of former President Ziaur Rahman and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. The 80-year-old Khaleda is seriously ill, so the reins of the party are in Tarique’s hands. Tarique Rahman was born on November 20, 1965, in Dhaka. In 1971, during the war to liberate Bangladesh from Pakistan, 6-year-old Tarique and his entire family were arrested. In 1988, Tarique became a general member of the BNP party and became active in politics with his mother. In 1991, when Khaleda became the first female Prime Minister, Tarique took complete charge of the election campaign. Then, in 2004, there was a rally in Dhaka where a grenade attack took place, killing 24 people. Sheikh Hasina narrowly escaped this attack. Tarique was accused of this attack. In 2007, when a caretaker government supported by the military was formed in Bangladesh, Tarique was arrested on corruption charges. He spent about 18 months in jail. In 2008, he was allowed to go to London for treatment.
In 2018, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in the grenade attack case, but in 2024, when Sheikh Hasina’s government was overthrown, Tarique’s fortunes changed. He was acquitted in all 84 cases against him. These included charges of the grenade attack, money laundering, and sedition. After 17 years, Tarique has returned to Bangladesh. After paying tribute at his father’s grave and obtaining his national identity card, he will join the election campaign. Currently, in Bangladesh… The interim government in Bangladesh is running with the support of the military, and parliamentary elections are scheduled for February 12, 2026. Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party will not participate in these elections because the government has suspended its registration. She has been living in India for the past year and a half. Currently, Tarique Rahman’s BNP is the largest party in Bangladesh. So, will the BNP win the elections this time? Michael Kugelman, a South Asia expert at the Atlantic Council, says the BNP is a strong contender in the elections.
Bangladesh’s Dark Prince Tarique Rahman’s Anti-India plans
Tarique Rahman arrived in Dhaka. Tarique Rahman is the son of Khaleda Zia and the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. People are saying that he is probably – and this is just speculation – that he might be the next Prime Minister of Bangladesh. A large crowd, comprising thousands and lakhs of people, came out onto the streets. Similarly, people in India are also engaging in similar activities, and in India, some are saying, “No, this might improve relations between Bangladesh and India.” Yesterday, I didn’t explain in detail that when his government was in power, they formed a government with Jamaat-e-Islami. And for Tarique Rahman, being anti-India, making anti-India statements, is nothing new. So, the Indian media is saying that this is some kind of great angel who has descended from above, but that’s not the case. This man has a past, and this man has an anti-India past. First, let me tell you, why does the Indian media like Tarique Rahman so much today?
Comparing him to the momentum of the movement, why are they comparing him to Muhammad? Muhammad is going to be gone. If it doesn’t happen after the February elections, it will happen next year. At most, what can he do next year? He might get the elections postponed, if he can even manage that. His chances are slim, but the momentum seems to be with him because his mother was the Prime Minister. Selling tickets, collecting money from toll plazas, and engaging in hooliganism – all of this was part of their program. And Tarique Rahman ran an alternate power center from there, from Hawa Bhaban, which wasn’t far from the Prime Minister’s office. It was an alternate power center where you could sit on a different chair, occupy a different position, and enjoy the benefits. So, you would go and meet Tarique Rahman, go to Hawa Bhaban, secure an appointment, take cash, and get your work done. All these things – the assassination attempt on Sheikh Hasina, the threats to kill Sheikh Hasina, and the corruption – what will happen? So, think about it, understand it. Today, Muhammad Yunus is sitting in the chair with the help of Muhammad. The entire government is there, but the government is surviving because of certain student leaders. Basically, this is not a popularly elected government. They get a majority, but it falls short of the required margin, and then they will hold hands with Jamaat-e-Islami. They will align with them because this has been their history before. The relationship with Jamaat-e-Islami is not new; it’s an old relationship. Today, the cards are a bit mixed up because nobody was expecting that the person who was sitting abroad for the last month would suddenly come to Bangladesh and say, “I want to contest the elections.” Today, he will go and become a registered voter. Between today and tomorrow, sometime he will become a registered voter, which gives him the right to stand for election. I’m talking about Bangladesh. My research is lying in front of me. South Asia’s biggest arms smuggling cases were facilitated from Hawa Bhaban, facilitating the 2004 Chittagong weapon shipment. India’s separatist group ULFA allegedly received help from officials and intelligence agencies. Number 2, a huge consignment of weapons, 10 trucks, was seized at Chittagong in April 2004. This was meant only for the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA). 10 trucks of weapons! So it’s not like they sent just one AK-47; they sent 10 trucks of weapons. Besides this, in 2004, there was a grenade attack in which an attempt was made to assassinate Sheikh Hasina. The chief of the Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh terrorist group, Mufti Abdul Hannan, testified in court. He testified in court about the allegations of monitoring constituency politics, candidates, engineering alliances, and even selling ministerial portfolios in 2005. So, friends, at least 84 cases were filed against Tarique Rahman in Bangladesh. Gradually, those cases were dismissed. And let me tell you one more thing, this is also true that when Tarique Rahman’s mother was in power, when the BNP was in power along with Jamaat-e-Islami, attacks on Hindus, attacks on Christians, attacks on Ahmadis – these were daily occurrences. Politics was viewed through a radical Islamic lens. That’s Tarique. Has he returned to Bangladesh now? After 17 years of being in exile in the UK, has his mindset changed? This is what the person who is coming back has said, but let me tell you, it will all depend on what kind of seats he gets in the February election. If he gets a majority, then his approach will be different, and if he gets fewer seats, then he will go back again because he has no other option.