Major political comeback: Bangladesh PM front-runner returns after 17-year exile

Tarique Rahman, the top contender to be the next prime minister of Bangladesh, has finally returned to the country after 17 years in exile.

The news of his homecoming comes ahead of landmark general elections which are scheduled to be held on February 12, 2026.

The 60-year-old is the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia and the acting chairman of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

In upcoming elections, BNP is eyeing a massive victory in the next year’s election polls. Since 1991, the political power in Bangladesh has largely been moved back and forth between Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia.

After toppling Hasina’s government in July’s student protests, the Awami League is barred from contesting next year’s February elections.

Resultantly, the BNP now appears to be in a dominating position in this election race.

“This will be a defining political moment,” senior BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said in a statement.

Rehman has shifted to London since 2008 after facing a myriad of criminal convictions in Bangladesh, including money laundering and charges linked to the plan to assassinate Hasina.

After the fall of Hasina's government, the courts acquitted him from all the alleged charges, paving the way to his return to the country.

According to National Citizen Party’s spokesperson Khan Muhammad Mursalin “Rahman was forced into exile under severe pressure and threats, so his homecoming carries symbolic weight. His arrival will undoubtedly energize party leaders and supporters … On the path to democracy, we will stand with him.”

The upcoming election is also seen as an acid test of the country’s ability to restore democratic legitimacy after years of political tumult.